Destiny 2 Returning Bloom
by Eternal Imagination
Summary: second part of Rose's story following into the Red War and then into Forsaken. Can Rose survive as the people she knows a friends and family begin to fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

Intro

Roots of Home.

Death felt like floating in zero gravity, at least that's what she compared it too as she hung in where ever she was now, limbo maybe? It had to be limbo. It was cold, everything was slow and everything was peaceful, no pains, no worries, not even a sense of fear.

Just her and her tiny Ghost, loosely settled into the chest plates of her armor, where she had tucked him during that fight with Oryx when he didn't respond to her.

Ironic. He had searched for her for years, brought her back from the dead once, given her all his aid and every scrap of advice or suggestion he could and at the end, when both of them had suffered pains and aches beyond his healing abilities, he had shown great bravery and gone ahead of her into the darkness...

Maybe she'd find him before she reached whatever was left of heaven for Guardians.

"We found them!"

"She's cold as death."

"Bring them inside, carefully."

"She's got light, but they're slipping."

"Kid? Kid come on, wake up."

"Don't die on us now."

Faint voices, some of them she might have known once, her helmet was removed and someone injected something into her arm as a gentle hand touched her face. Slowly, warmth and energy seeped into her again and faintly she became aware of someone trying to coax the Ghost's shell from inside her.

She reacted with aggression, locking her armour around the precious Shell of her Ghost, empty as it might be it was his and no one was taking him away from her, the snap of her armour and the burst of static forced whoever it was to back off with a startled yell.

"Don't force him out," A familiar voice said, so clear and so close she was sure she had to be dreaming. This couldn't be the same woman, she was dead. "She's gonna be scattered until she gets back on her own feet and her Ghost is recharged." They said and a warmth touched her face. "Hunter? Guardian open your eyes."

She tried to obey, more curious then anything, it sounded so like Ikora Ray, but could it really be? No, why would Ikora be away from the Tower? She was a member of the Vanguard and they didn't leave the Tower. She had to be dreaming, or some other weird vision like trick of her mind before she was completely accepted into death's waiting embrace.

"Her eyes are frozen shut," Another familiar voice said and something brought new warmth to her face starting at her forehead and slowly stroking downwards over her eyes, taking a coldness she hadn't even realized was there away and allowing a numb feeling of sensation to slowly return.

Someone was knelt behind her gently bracing her head in their lap as they slowly stroked some kind of warm liquid over her face and there was someone else knelt to her right, gentle hands holding her wrist to keep check on her pulse... Wait why did they need to do that if she was dead?

Wasn't she dead? She had to be, Bing had died when she shot the Shard of the Traveler and couldn't revive her so who was with her? Where was she?

"She's stirring." The second voice stated as she tried to speak. "Guardian?"

"Cayde?" She managed to ask in barely a whisper as her eyes slowly found some focus, but rather than the cheeky grin and bright optics she come to know, she found the dull shine of old metal, slightly tinted with rust and dull yellow eyes.

"In the metal, kid. Thanks to you." The Hunter Vanguard smiled, carefully sitting her up and offered her a bucket. "Here."

"What's thi-Mph!" Rose tried to ask then winced and snatched the bucket from him as her stomach tried to escape via her mouth. "Oh, that's what it's for." She groaned, bending into the bucket as her throat burned again, thankfully Cayde-6 was there to help, gently rubbing her back until it was over and he handed her a rag to wipe her mouth with. "Thanks."

"Feel better?" He asked once she was done, setting the bucket aside.

"How is this possible?" She asked, shaking her head. "I saw you die, Cayde, I saw everyone die! You, the Speaker, Ikora, Zavala... everyone... How is this-?"

"We'll explain when we get you back to the City." Cayde assured softly as Ikora placed a sheet over Rose's shaking body. Cayde carefully placed a charge cable into her armour to revive Bing's shell, helping Rose stay warm as the ship they travelled in began its journey.

"What about-" Rose began to ask then winced as her body protected to any kind of movement for a moment or two. "Did you find anyone else with us?"

"Little one, we found you drifting in Saturn's rings with the Hive Dreadnaught." Ikora explained from the pilot seat. "We've been searching for you both for almost a week now."

"A week? But we were gone almost six months." Rose said, starting to shake from more than the cold. "We've been- We fought Hive and Vex and- No this isn't right! It can't be right- I was- I saw you all die!"

"Calm down Rose." A familiar voice soothed and a familiar Ghost floated down from behind Cayde-6 and hovered before her. "You're in no state to live through a panic attack right now."

"Watson?" Rose asked and Watson's shell gave an assuring nod as she looked at him. "How is this real? I- How did I get back?"

"Steady breaths." Cayde ordered softly and she paused to take a few deep breaths, trying to let her mind process what she had been told and what was happening.

"Yes, we all died and yes, you saw it through the recordings the Speaker gave me when you found me. But when you shot the Shard and destroyed the last link Oryx had to our Traveler, it freed the light here and released the Ghosts once again." Ikora explained.

"We all came back in a huge wave, soon finding our Guardians and reviving them with the new Light you had freed." Watson continued as he hovered in front of her. "After a battle against the few Fallen Devils that remained in the City, we began rebuilding, and then, the Speaker told us that the Traveler had sent him a vision of a Hunter, drifting alone in space near Saturn. Ikora and Cayde were sent to find out while Zavala remained to oversee the rebuilding efforts."

"Rebuilding?" Rose asked.

"We'll talk about it when we get home kid, for now, you need to warm up and get some rest." Cayde said offering her a steaming cup of some dark liquid that she drank eagerly when she realized it was tea.

The flight back was long, giving Rose time to think carefully and see the changes to the world she had returned to in small detail, the planets were bright again and the pull of Light was strong and easily felt even from such a distance. She could see the tell-tale flight paths of ships darting from place to place around Mars, Venus and the Moon as they went past, Guardians and Civilian ships returning home.

Coming into Earth and heading to the Last City, Rose blinked in awe at the sight that lay out before her. The City was alive with rebuilding efforts, countless Guardians and civilians working together to make the walls strong once again, make good ruined homes and clean out the mess left behind.

People were applauding and cheering as Cayde-6 and Ikora lead her off the ship, one or two people at first but then everyone within the docks was clapping and cheering, Titans, Hunters, Warlocks, Ghosts and civilians were applauding them like returning heroes as she followed the Vanguard through the City and towards the repaired lower area of the Tower.

"Why is everyone clapping?"

"Rose!" Two voices cried out in joy and relief as two familiar Hunters grabbed Rose in a tight hug, cutting off Ikora's chance to explain.

"We thought we'd lost you!" A human female stated and a hand ruffled Rose's hair.

"Damn it, we are never letting you go off on your own again!" An Exo male proclaimed as a static charge made Rose's skin break out into goose bumps.

"Ace? J-Cey?" Rose asked, she knew them both from their voices but to see them again after watching them die on the footage Watson had brought with him made this reunion seem even more like a part of some huge dream.

"Who else?" Ace asked, her Ghost floating up to hover over her shoulder. "Damn it Rose, I thought you were dead!"

"I saw you both die! How do you think I felt watching that happen!?" Rose remarked, feeling tears at her eyes again but she blinked them back. This wasn't a time for tears. "You taught me that we never stay still when training, why didn't you move on?"

"And leave you for Raven food? Never!" Ace stated, "You may have been the one for Solo runs that day but we don't abandon our teammates for dead unless there's proof they are dead."

"I fell through a Vex portal." Rose remarked, "There wouldn't have been any proof."

"But we could still feel your light." J-Cey said as his Ghost twisted around to his left. "You weren't dead Rose, we couldn't leave without you or proof you were gone forever. We had to wait for you."

"You died waiting for us."

"And now we're back." Ace said, "All of us. The last ship is due back in a few hours, the rebuilding is going well. Everything is going right for a change." She added.

"But how?"

"This is all thanks to you." An aged voice said as the crowds parted to allow the Speaker through, leaning heavily on a cane as he walked but a kind smile evident in his voice. "You and your Ghost made this possible."

"Speaker." Rose smiled, glad to see the old man after witnessing his death at the hands of Omnigul.

"Let's take this inside." Cayde suggested.

"An excellent idea." Zavala said, having waited at the door to enter the lower Tower. "Everyone else back to work, our home will not rebuild itself." The commander stated calmly but firmly. "Ace, J-Cey you have inventory to finish counting."

"Aw man." J-Cey huffed, "We just get our third back and he's kicking us out of the meeting."

"The quicker you count ammo, the sooner you will be finished and can join us." Cayde-6 smiled and both Hunters raced off.

Inside the 'finished' areas of the Tower it was a little calmer, people rushing back and forth with data pads, scrolls, parts and boxes, but it wasn't over crowned, Lord Saladin and Lord Shaxx were helping heave stones and slabs up and around on pullies until Zavala called them over.

"Still no sign of the faction leaders?" Ikora asked.

"Not yet, and no sign of Eris or the Queen either." Zavala said, "We haven't found any sign of their bodies either."

"People are still missing?" Rose asked.

"Not everyone was within range of the first Wave of Ghosts and the Reef Awoken were not revived as new Guardians." Ikora explained as they reached what had become something of their meeting and planning room, though he moved to pull a seat out for the Speaker as Zavala helped the older man down the small steps. "We're still a little fuzzy on all the details, but hopefully, between all of us we can figure out what happened and how to avoid a similar situation again."

"So, this is a debriefing?" Rose guessed as Ace and J-Cey skidded into the room.

"More a very big meeting of minds who have only partly some idea what happened and a lot of hoping that you might be able to help us put the pieces of this jigsaw back together." Cayde-6 smiled with a flash of a playful grin he'd not used in years. "Let's start at the beginning. I sent you, J-Cey and Ace to Venus for training with the Blacksnakes and according to reports I got, you three arrived, in wonderful fashion by the way and started your training as planned."

"It wasn't my fault the floor gave out and scared Ace so much she shot the Blacksnakes in the asses." J-Cey sighed.

"Was funny though." Rose admitted ducking her head as Ace glared at her.

"You mentioned a Vex portal." The Speaker stated calmly.

Rose nodded and explained how she had been chosen for solo patrol that day, how she and Bing had gone off searching for any sign of the Tai Ravens or Fallen when the ground shook and tore open, throwing her through some kind of portal not so gently as she had to be revived, but when they had finally gotten out of the mess they had fallen into, they'd been in some kind of alternate world to this.

She told them how she and Bing had been about to die had it not been for the help of mixed Fireteam and their Ghosts, they would have died and how they had helped her escape the maze of tunnels and passages of the Vault of Glass and taken her to the Tower, how she had been welcomed and greeted by a brighter, warmer, kinder world, where the Traveler's Light was strong, the Tower safe and the City standing.

She told them how she had learnt from that same fire team about how they had saved their Traveler from a poison similar to the one that had destroyed their world, and how they had also faced and defeated the Fallen House of Wolves alongside the Reef and the Queen, learning from them until she had unlocked the Arc energy within her before being shown the fate of her world from the Hacked Vex files.

Watson took a moment to explain how he had could to pass through a strange rip that he had thought was due to some glitch in an old Vex temple on Venus only to have himself caught by an Over Mind and his systems hacked before he fell into a state of shut down, then been awoken by Rose and Bing in the alternate world and used what Light had been left within him from the Speaker to cure the small spread of Hive poison Rose and Bing had unknowingly transferred to the other Vanguard and Ghosts, leaving behind the Nine of Hearts card that Rose had tucked in her armor.

The recap was cut short when a familiar 'bing' echoed around eth room and Bing fizzled into life. "Why do I feel like I had a system purge?"

"Because you did." Rose said catching her Ghost in her hands, "And if you ever take that long to reboot again I will personally paint a cat face over your eye, glue a tail and ears on your shell and call you Cute for the rest of our lives."

"Oh, I think she means it this time Bing." J-Cey chuckled then ducked his helm as the Ghost shot out a million questions at once at both him and Ace and then at the whole room.

"Watson." Cayde pleaded as his Ghost gave a light chuckle before gently nudging Bing to one side to give him a quicker run down. "Now, where were we?"

"Rose was about to tell us about the Reef battling against the Wolves of our world." Ace smiled, "Tell me you kicked ass."

Rose smiled, "I was just there to help with the fight, I didn't kill anyone important." she tried to say, hoping to keep things from getting too exciting.

"You killed the Fist of Crota by yourself in the Prison of Elders and then killed the Might of Crota alone, you wiped out millions of Hive Thrall, Acolytes and Knights when on a mission with Ari and Vlad, and you beat the one of the Princes alone, after you picked up your Void Bow." Bing stated, "I have it all on file, along with you putting Prince Uldren in his place and helping to save the Queen."

"You did what!?" Ace and J-Cey asked in shock.

"Thanks Bing." Rose groaned as Bing ducked behind a tapestry shyly.

"Oh, did you leave those parts out?" he asked.

"They weren't that big of a deal." Rose tried to say only for Lord Shaxx to ask to see the files himself and Bing, ever the obedient Ghost, began to show the recordings.

Needless to say the rest of the debriefing went smoothly, though everyone noticed Bing refused to move from his place in Roses hands when he was done showing the recordings he had gathered, and by the end of the afternoon, Rose felt as though she had just run the Prison of Elders with Arielle when Variks was in a bad mood.

"I think we can all safely say that we have no further questions for our Hunter?" The Speaker chuckled softly, "Let us call this meeting to its end and retire, there is much to celebrate and much to think on, but there will be time enough later to plan our actions."

"Indeed, Speaker." Zavala nodded, "Dismissed, all of you."

"You can bunk up with us Rose if you like?" Ace offered.

"Just for tonight," Rose nodded, "then I need to scrap up what Glimmer I have and see about buying a new ship."

"No need," Bing assured with a happy bounce. "Our ship is on the way back, I got the signal from it on the way in."

"Your ship?" J-Cey asked. "You mean that left over mess of parts you left hanging around Venus?"

Rose only smiled as they lead her towards their room.

The Speaker took a deep and turned to the Vanguard and Titan Lords. "It seems we have all our answers now and thanks to the brave efforts of one lost Guardian, we have been granted a second chance."

"To have faced all that alone and come back with no injuries." Ikora shook her head, "We were so lost in our own battles and our own failing that we lost sight of Hope."

"Rose wasn't perfect, she had lost hope once," Cayde-6 sighed, "Damn lucky she got sent to a place that helped her gain more confidence and light though."

"We will speak more on this tomorrow." The Speaker said, "For now, let us give Rose time to settle back into our world and regain some strength. No doubt this has all be an eventful reawakening."

"Yes sir." Zavala nodded. "And we still have a lot of work to do around the City and about the Tower."

"All work and no play, same old Zavala." Cayde-6 chuckled.

Rose sank into the pillow of the bed she had been offered with a shaky breath. "It's all real, all of this. Everything we did and all that happened. It was all real and now. We're really home aren't we?"

"Yes we are." Bing bounced in a nod, resting in the pillow near her head as she clutched the blanket around her tightly. "I don't remember much after I went to sleep. I heard you calling me, Rose, I tried to wake up again but I just, I didn't have the Light anymore."

"You're awake now, and that's enough." Rose smiled and lightly covered the Ghost with her hand, smiling as the warm light within pulsed like a heartbeat to prove it was there. "I thought I'd lost you, Bing."

"Never Guardian," the Ghost assured with a soft chime. "You're stuck with me until the Traveler calls us both back."

"Hopefully that won't be for a long time yet," Rose said, "Good night Bing."

"Good night Rose."

"So, we fight our way into a shit storm of Dregs, whoop the asses of some nameless big Vandals, rip the head off an Barron and now we're going into pits of literal hell to kill more Fallen?" The Exo asked as he reloaded his weapons.

"Basically yes." The Human smiled shouldering his rifle. "Then we go home and have lots of junk food and then we get to have the joy of waving this victory in Cayde's face."

"Kuji, I swear to the Traveler if you get us killed with this hair brained idea to upstage Cadye, I am taking Val from you for a week." A Ghost stated firmly.

"Relax mama Iris, I won't get us killed, Grampa is too stubborn to die and if we get shot at he has a nice big bubble we can hide in-ow!" The Human named Kuji winced as the Ghost rammed the side of his helm.

"So sorry about him Iris." A second Ghost said. "Kuji has been suffering with a lot of head trauma lately."

"Is it any wonder with how many times she flies at me?" Kuji winced then covered his head with his hands. "Don't hurt me."

The Exo sighed and looked down into the pit they had been preparing to go down into. "Are you ready?"

"Yep!" Kuji beamed and 'fell' into the pit with a mock salute. "Wheeeeeee!"

"We are sure he isn't genuinely insane, aren't we?" Iris asked.

"Partly." The Hunter's Ghost stated with a slight twist of its parts before following Kuji down into the pit.

"Remind me. Why are we team mates with them?" Iris asked her Guardian.

"Because you and I both know if we left them alone Val would go offline from system failures?" He offered.

"Ah," the Ghost bounced in a nod. "Well, better go after them then."

The Exo nodded and after his Ghost fizzled into his armor for the jump, he stepped off the edge of the pit and fell into the darkness.

J-Cey watched slack jawed as the Ceres Galliot flew by them, the sun glinting off the sides as the pilot at last brought the ship back to the docks and landed silently in an empty space and the gangplank opened to allow Rose entry to the ship.

"Where did you get a Ceres Galliot?!" Ace asked in awe.

"She won it for beating the Prison of Elders." Bing stated with a cheery bounce as they boarded their own ships.

~ "So,"~ Cayde asked over the comms, ~ "Ready to go hunting again?" ~

"I can't sit still and wait for answers to come to me." Rose said, "Where are we heading?"

~ "We are sending teams to the Moon and help with Hive clear out for now, we're still searching out the missing Guardians and trying to cut down on their numbers." ~ Zavala explained over the comms.

"Rose look," Bing called from the pilot seat and moved slightly as Rose moved to the chair and smiled carefully bringing the silver barreled Hand Cannon with feathers etched in the sides.

"Vlad's Hawkmoon." She smiled.

"How did it end up here?" Bing asked.

"I have no idea." Rose admitted, holstering the Hand Cannon at her hip.

"For luck?" Bing asked and Rose smiled nodding as she started up the ship with ease. "Do you think we'll be able to go back?" He added.

"Maybe one day." Rose nodded, feeling the ship move and fly out over the last City. "But for now, we have stuff to do."

"Like beat Ace and J-Cey in a race to the Moon?" Bing asked hopefully.

~ "Keep dreaming baby Bing!" ~ Ace laughed.

~ "No one is taking our title as rulers of the skies away." ~ J-Cey added.

"Thirty credits says you are wrong." Rose smiled and pulled the throttle back all the way and pulled away from Ace and J-Cey's ships easily. "See you on the Moon!"

"See, I told you we'd be fine!" Kuji smiled then winced as Iris' scolding voice came back at him over the comms.

~ "Of all the stupid, irresponsible, crazy stunts you could have done you flew your Sparrow INTO the damn Severitor and then nearly get us all killed when you set the whole structure on fire while we are inside it!" ~ Iris yelled as loud as her voice would allow. ~ "Where you even thinking?!" ~

"Kuji." Val tried to say only to be cut off.

~ "In his defense, you were the one who said we needed a bigger attack to take that place down." ~

~ "Hush you." ~ Iris snapped at the Exo Titan.

"Kuji. Cayde is trying to-" Val tried again and was again cut off.

"Aw, come on Mama Iris. We lived and we got some sweet gear and some shiny golden Engrams for Master Rahool to decrypt for us." Kuji said trying to make the whole even sound more worthwhile.

~ "Don't you try and butter this up all nice-nice young man, you're not getting off so easy." ~

~ "Oh, the lady of the team is getting serious." ~ Cayde-6 chuckled over the comms, ~ "What did you do this time Kuji?" ~

"Why do you always think it's my fault she's mad?" Kuji huffed.

~ "Because nine times out of ten it is your fault." ~ The Vanguard chuckled, ~ "So, what did you do?" ~

"We blew up an entire House of Kings set up in the South Carolina area." Kuji said.

"And you better tell Amanda he can't race this week either, no more Sparrow." Val added.

~ "Kuji you my man are in for a world of hurt when you get home, this is the ninth crashed Sparrow in as many weeks." ~ Cayde sighed.

"No, no, no, Cayde you misunderstand. He drove his Sparrow INTO the Kings' Barron." Val stated before Kuji could stop him. "It's in a burning mess back in the fire we left behind."

There was silence on the other end of the comms then a very Cayde-like snigger and failed attempt not to burst out into a complete fit of laughter.

~ "I expect a full and detailed report from both of you when you return to the Tower." ~ Commander Zavala stated firmly over the line, leaving no room for questions or excuses as always.

"Yes Commander." Kuji sighed, resigning himself to the verbal thrashing he was going to get from both the Awoken Commander and Amanda Holiday when he got home.

"Storm ahead." Val said.

~ "Then we better take this steady, I am not giving Amanda more reason to yell at me when we get home." ~ The Titan in the leading ship stated as they flew into the thick black cloud banks.

"Well Grampa, I can at least hide behind you if she starts throwing shit at me." Kuji stated.

"Oh no my man, I am not making a shield for you to hide in. You're the fool who destroyed the Sparrow, you are the one who is gonna get down on your knees and beg that lady for a new one." Grampa chuckled. "And you will beg my man, that lady is not gonna let you have anything from her store until you have made peace with her."

"I know, but damn it man she can be scary when she'd pissed." Kuji sighed.

"She's a woman," Val stated, "They are meant to be scary."

~ "I heard that." ~ Iris stated.

"You were meant to dear." Val remarked, "You're much more attractive when you are angry."

~ "I am going to murder you with a virus so powerful not even the Speaker's Ghost can heal you Valmont!" ~ Iris threatened though both Grampa and Kuji were in fits of laughter.

Chapter One;

Aw, hell NO.

"COME AND GET IT FUCKERS!" Orion snarled in fury as he snatched hammers out of the air as fast as they came, slamming them down and into the incoming waves of Cabal.

"How did they get this far without us seeing them coming?!" Terrik yelled releasing another arrow into the huge heavy armored intruders.

"They took out our satellites and covered their approach with the storm." Vlad hissed ducking for cover as shots pinged and chipped the rocks and broken walls around him. "Fuck."

"The last shuttle is prepping for launch!" Lindor yelled out.

"Hold that shuttle!" Zaragosa-40 yelled as he skidded into view, carrying an injured civilian on his side as Shaxx ushered more survivors after him.

"HURRY!"

Zavala growled. "Hold the Plaza until that shuttle is safely away! We take down that command ship next!" He ordered.

"And today started out so nice." Wrex huffed.

It was true, over the past year they had helped Lord Saladin bury his old demons, cleaned up and cleared out most of the remaining Taken forces around the system, though they still popped up in some places, the Hive had retreated into the darkest corners they could find but they weren't gone.

And while strange, it seemed some Fallen had taken to flying a new banner of House Judgement, a purple Banner that Variks refused to accept as a true house.

But this day had started out like most others, clear skies, bright sunshine, warmth, new bounties on the boards, new Guardians coming in and old Guardians go out. Vlad had even made a huge plate of pancakes for breakfast and Arielle had returned with some news for them from the Queen herself, all hell came from within the storm clouds and Cabal, tagged as Red Legion had stormed the City walls and swiftly taken over several areas as Civilians and Guardians struggles to defend them.

So far, the Guardians had managed to evacuate some of the Civilians and most of the injured Guardians were recovering thanks to their Ghosts and making a good effort to push back the Cabal. But something, something was making this fight feel like a losing battle.

~"Zavala, the last of the shuttles is away, but the Speaker."~ Ikora stated over the comms as the gun fights rained around the tower. ~"He never made it, I'm going to look for him."~

"Vlad, Orion, Arielle! Go with her!" Zavala yelled, "We'll handle the Plaza!"

"On it." Arielle nodded, pulling Orion down as a shot whistled past where his head had been a second ago. "Will you watch your own back for once?"

"Why I have you to watch it for me babe." The Titan smiled.

"Less flirting more working!" Vlad yelled as he tossed down a smoke grenade to buy them time to get to the North Tower with Ikora. "These fuckers aren't as unorganized as the others we've faced before."

"Red Legion, never been defeated in any battle and lead by a ruthless and commander. They are the elite of the elite." Sovereign explained as he read what Ikora had reported about these Cabal.

"Well they are about to face defeat." Orion growled, "They fucked up my plans for the day." He added as they reached the passage to the tower and the Titan paused, blinking at the still working and whistling sweeper bot surrounded by Cabal corpses. "Remind me never to piss of the mechs."

"I'll try to remember that as well as the many other things on our list of things not to piss off." Wrex chuckled. "Whao!"

A platoon of Red Legion Cabal were waiting for them at the end of the passage, weapons aimed and ready to fire, but before they could even blink, a Nova bomb struck the center of their group and vaporized them all as the Vanguard Warlock floated down from what was left of the Speaker's chambers in the Northern Tower.

"Ikora!?" Vlad gasped in shock as the Void energy burned the last of the Cabal away with ease.

"The Speaker is gone." The Warlock hissed turning as a Cabal gun ship flew at them, "Red Legion, you will take no more from us. And you will find no mercy in me!"

"Ikora!" Arielle called after her mentor. "Fuck, now what!?"

~"Ikora will find the Speaker," ~ Zavala assured over the coms. ~"But we need to move of that Command Ship. Orion I'm sending Amanda to pick you up. Arielle, Vlad, get to your ships and cover Amanda's flight path!"~

"Yes sir."

"FUCKERS!" Kuji laughed as he swung his ship this way and that, avoiding the Cabal ships easily as other Guardians ships rained down on them as he skimmed past.

~"I call bullshit!"~ Grampa yelled into coms, ~"Cabal rockets do not have tracking!"~

"Wheeeeee!" Kuji laughed shooting past Grampa's ship and drawing the fire off his team mate.

~"Make a hole!"~ Vlad's voice cut through the comms second before Amanda's ship shot by with two more ships at her wings.

~"Keep these fuckers off us!"~ Arielle yelled.

"Yes Ma'am, keeping fuckers off you!" Kuji cackled, opening fire with his ships main guns. "Eat lead bitches!"

~"Whooooo!"~ Grampa laughed.

~"Once Orion and Terrik get the shield down we hit that ship with everything!"~

"Yes Commander!" Grampa affirmed though he and Kuji were already half out of their ammo count and mostly running on fumes as it was.

Orion and Terrik landed safely on the command ship, though their comms started to fill with static and white nose.

~"Orion? Terrik? *crack-crack-hiss* Can either of you *crack-crack* hear me?"~ Arielle asked over the static filled comms.

"Fuck…" Terrik hissed, "Arielle? Vlad?"

~"Cayde! What's your status?!"~ Zavala demanded.

~"Umm *pop-hiss* not good- low on Ammo *crack-crack-pop* flaming gun is not so flaming anymore."~ Cayde admitted, sounding just a little worried. ~"Anyone-*hiss* Ikora?"~

~"Not since she went for the Speaker!"~ Zavala answered. ~"Form up! On me!"~

"We better hurry." Orion said.

"I don't like this Vlad, I really don't like this…" Sovereign said.

"You keep saying, but what more can we do?" Vlad asked unloading a few rounds into a Cabal Gunship as it dared to fly at Amanda's ship. "We're low on ammo, most of our ships are out on patrols or on other worlds, hell if we'd gone to the Reef earlier we'd not even know this was happening!"

"I know but something still feels wrong." His Ghost stated.

"Vakarian any luck?" Arielle asked as she lead a gunship right into a bottleneck for a team of Guardians to take down with their Rocket launchers on the ground.

"I can't reach anyone on the comms except those already here." Vakarian said. "Not even on emergency channels."

"Fuck. This is Arielle, can anyone get a signal out past the storm?"

~"Negative."~

~"Nothing but static and white noise!"~

~"Same here."~

~"They're jamming out coms and destroying our City- Fuck! We're getting are asses handed to us here!"~ Kuji yelled as he looped back around to help keep fire off several downed Guardians as they scrambled into team mates' ships for safety. ~"Anyone got a plan?!" ~

"We got two Guardians working on that Command ship! Hang on just a little longer!" Vlad assured though he dared to glance at the ship they had dropped Orion and Terrik off on not minutes ago. "Come on ya hammer tossing fool."

"There they are!" Sovereign yelled locking onto Terrik and Orion as they reached an outside area of the Command ship.

~"Watch your six Arielle!"~ Grampa yelled over the comms suddenly as a lucky shot took out on of her engines, ~"Fuck!"~

"Damn it! Vakarian!" Arielle hissed and her Ghost easily transmatted her out of the ship before it could crash down. "Fuck, Petra's gonna kill me."

"Not if Amanda gets you first." Vakarian said in a small attempt to bring some humor to the situation.

~"Get in here!"~ Vlad yelled as his ship swooped low and hovered overhead. ~"Quick! Terrik's ship just went live, we're gonna win this!"~

"Go-AH!" Arielle cried out, clutching her chest as something inside her was snatched away with such force it left her unable to focus.

"Arielle?! Shit!" Vlad yelled in similar pain, the ship twisting as it struggled to cope with the lack of a pilot and crashed into a nearby building. "Fuck… Sovereign?!"

"Guardians…" Vakarian hissed with static lacing every syllable. "Something's... wrong…" he managed to state before his optic shut down and he fell from the air like a stone, landing with a thud at Arielle's feet as the Warlock fell to her knees, grabbing Vakarian in one hand and dragging his shell under her, trying to protect him from the heavy foot falls of the Cabal approaching them.

~"What's happening!?"~ Cayde yelled into the coms, clutching Watson to his chest as he aimed and fired at the Cabal still coming at them. ~"Zavala!? Come on Zavala talk to me!"~

~"We're losing Guardians!"~

~"Our Ghosts are gone!"~

~"Fuck!"~ Cayde hissed, ~"All Guardians pull back! Retreat! Everyone out!"~

"Vlad?" Arielle asked as the Exo heaved her up and half carried her as he unloaded his rifle into the Cabal. "What about Orion?"

"Terrik's got him." Vlad assured, quickly pulling the Warlock into a hidden tunnel, one of many that only Hunters knew about. "Let's make like the Trees and leave." He added, keeping his voice low as he guided her past thin walls and grated covers that showed the carnage of their home outside.

"But our Ghosts…"

"We'll work it out later Ari, right now, we gotta make like new Guardians and get the fuck out of here." Vlad stated firmly. "Just stay focused on that and we'll get past this." He said as the darkness swallowed them both.

All around them, they heard the sounds of gunshots and screaming, death cries from Ghosts and Guardians alike as the Cabal picked them off one by one, ripping down walls and tearing up any kind of hiding place they could find as smoke and flames darkened the sky to a near endless night.

Eventually, an encrypted message came through on the static filled channels, to evacuate the city.

"What do we do now Grampa?" Kuji asked carefully cradling Val's broken shell in his hands ignoring the pains in his arms and legs from having run and ducked around Cabal with Grampa to get to the Titan's waiting ship and get out of the City.

"We get the fuck out of dodge and get our asses someplace safe." Grampa stated firmly, Iris's shell safely tucked in his armor as they made their way out of the city's air space. "I can get us out of the City air space. At least that will get us out of danger for time and we can try to figure this shit out."

"Can you fix me?" Val asked as Kuji gently moving the broken panels of his shell.

"I don't know, Val, that shot wrecked a lot of your systems, and I don't want to risk you going offline again or we're both fucked." Kuji admitted. "Just hang on, once we get to a safe place we can try and figure this all out."

"Ok." Val wheezed, laying in Kuji's hand rather than hovering, his energy spent for now.

Kuji smiled and carefully tucked his Ghost into his armor, "Link up and recharge little buddy, you need it."

"Wake me up if there is something you need help with." Val said as he linked up to the Hunter's armor and fell into a state of recharge.

"What has caused this?"

"We don't know, your Grace," The Warlock before her explained dejectedly, "Our Light is gone, communications with other Guardians and the Vanguard are lost and our Ghosts have lost their connection to the Traveler, we got some broken responses, but nothing that makes sense."

Mara sat up, "What of my Sword?"

"We have not heard from her or anyone since we lost our Light." The Warlock shook her head. "Last we heard on comms, she and her team were leaving Earth for Titan on Zavala's orders."

"Eris Morn? The other Vanguard?"

"It is our understanding that Cayde-6 made it out and as far as I can make out, Ikora headed for Io. There was no word on Eris." The Warlock said.

Queen Mara Sov leaned back in her throne, her face betraying nothing as she absorbed everything she had been told about the situation so far. Four days ago, everything had been normal on the out post, Guardians and Awoken trading goods and gossip, Variks' weapons were selling well and Petra had almost run out of Bounties to give out. Suddenly, like someone had flipped a switch, everything had gone wrong. Something had blocked the Traveler's Light from flowing freely into the Guardians that protected it, cutting the Ghosts off from it as well which had resulted in Ghosts falling out of the air and Guardians losing their class abilities of Sol, Void and Arc. Several Guardians had been inside the Prison what this had happened and had struggled until Variks had pulled them all out of the Prison and sealed it off, now the Reef was quickly filling with Guardians seeking some kind of way to contact the Tower for answers but instead they were left with only static on every channel; communications were down.

Anna Lee, the Warlock before her, had arrived with a badly injured Exo Team mate and after insuring he was on the mend, had managed to hack a few comm lines and received an automated message from Commander Zavala for all Guardians to make their way to Titan.

Those who had tried to follow that order had met a line of Cabal ships waiting for them at the edge of the Reef and now there was a gun battle raging just beyond the Reef's borders, Guardians were dying in that fight and not coming back as their Ghosts no longer had the Light to revive them. The Cabal had managed to do what no one-Skolas, Crota, even Oryx- had managed to do since the Traveler arrived in the system and empowered the Guardians. She knew the stories of the Red Legion, heard about their victories and the atrocities committed that led to those victories. The Cabal problem, she had left to the Guardians, the fight of her people had been limited to the Fallen and the Hive, but now, the monstrous Red Legion had come to their system and everyone was suffering because of it.

"The Reef will open its doors to any Guardian who needs our aid." She stated firmly as she looked at her brother. "See it done."

"Yes, my Queen." Uldren bowed his head and left the throne room to carry out her orders.

"Thank you, your Grace."

"You will report to me any changes and any news when and as it comes to you." The Queen said calmly.

"Of course." The Warlock nodded, her ghost resting on her shoulder as she took her cue and left the throne room.

Now alone and without distraction, the Queen of the Reef found herself thinking in greater depths. How had it been possible for the Cabal to get so close to the Earth without someone noticing, and if they could get to earth so quickly and so quietly, could the same also be done here? No, she had the defenses to protect her home and her people, the Guardians had helped install them during the Taken invasion a year ago and all her soldiers were trained to use them. Her brother's Crows would be on high alert by now and her finest guard would be gearing up to take their posts and repel any attack that came. The Reef had suffered a long and harsh time with its old Queen, and then a span of time passed where there was no one to sit at its head until she had earned this throne and her title with bittersweet joy having almost lost her brother in the efforts, but since claiming her place as Queen she had taken control with a firm, fair and just rule to allow the Reef to bloom from into a thriving community that would be the Awoken's haven. They had faced dangers many times on the way, from the attempted invasions by the Fallen Houses, failed coups and the countless attacks by Tia Ravens; it had not been an easy life.

Under her rule, the Wolves had become hers, and Variks, the last of his House, had become crucial in the protection of the Reef, especially when it came to the Fallen. Petra's military experience and Uldren's Crows had allowed for further strengthening of the Reef's borders and it was her devotion to securing the Reef and her people that led to her closing the Reef. Closing the Reef had kept most outsiders at bay, but there was a stubbornness in the Guardians that Mara hadn't expected. They came in droves-human, Exo, Awoken- all wanting access to the Black Gardens. They all left empty handed-or they didn't leave at all.

Until a Warlock with a piercing gaze and a habit of back talking Uldren arrived in her Reef. Arielle had been different from the other Guardians, Mara hadn't known what it was at first, but Arielle proved herself each time they met. Their meetings, though brief at first, had become longer and more numerous the further Arielle got into her mission to accessing the Black Gardens. Each visit from the Warlock, the Queen of the Reef learned more and more about the Guardian. She was intelligent enough to be a strategist, determined and stubborn enough to argue-and win-against Uldren. Finally, there was Arielle's relationship with her Ghost Vakarian.

There was friendship between the two, a camaraderie that the Warlock was happy to share with others-Petra, Variks, even Uldren. And Mara herself. The Reef became Arielle's home. Eventually, Arielle became Mara's Sword, a weapon to use against her enemies and in tandem with Uldren, Mara's Shield. Together they were the fiercest fighters and protectors of not only the Reef, but Mara Sov. Their unity was what Mara knew would help her in the future, against any enemies that would threaten the Reef.

Perhaps it was Uldren's love for Arielle or Arielle's devotion to Mara that had convinced the Awoken Queen that the Warlock would never abandon the Reef. Arielle and Uldren had become a unit, extensions of one another, and also their Queen, that there was no way one could think of the Reef's future and not see the Queen and her Sword and Shield. She had lost sight of the type of person Arielle was around that time. Her alliance with Eris Morn to battle the coming Darkness had made her plot so far in advance, that she'd forgotten the woman she'd come to love like a sister, and when Arielle discovered what she and Uldren were planning behind her back, her Sword was gone. She still blamed herself, for her Sword leaving and the coup led by Skolas and his Wolves.

Skolas had taken advantage of her Sword's absence and in his escape, murdered many of her people and betrayed her, his Kell. So Mara, enraged and out for blood, opened the Reef to the Guardians so that they could assist her in eradicating Skolas and his House. Whether it was the plight of the Queen or Arielle feeling partly responsible for Skolas' escape, Mara was never certain-she never asked-but the Warlock returned to hunt down the Wolves. Gone was the Voidwalker and the Sunsinger, Arielle had become a Stormcaller in her time away and brought her rage and power in a storm of lightning that razed the House of Wolves and brought Skolas back to the prison. Her Sword had grown so much in the short time spent away, that the Queen realized she had been holding the Warlock back.

So when Arielle left again Mara wasn't surprised; Arielle was a Guardian after all.

Then came Rose. At the thought of the misplaced Hunter, Mara's lips curved slightly. For all her suffering, Rose never lost hope that she might be of use to the world she'd stumbled into. She had arrived on the Reef with the intention of becoming a better Guardian, and Mara would be eternally grateful to the young Hunter, because Rose was the one that brought Arielle back to the Reef. It was through her that Mara was able to repair her relationship with her Sword, but most importantly her friend. Through Rose they had successfully challenged her world's House of Wolves and together, with her Sword and Shield, they had destroyed Skolas and his House once more.

Finally, their battle with Oryx the Taken King had caused more of a stir than the Wolves could ever have hoped to cause. Mara clenched her fists as she remembered her capture at the Taken King's hands, how her people died in the assault of his Dreadnought. How finally, at the end, her Sword and Shield, alone with Rose, saved her life. How the Guardians battled Oryx for the safety of their Universe.

As she thought about all she and her people had gone through, all the people she'd met and allied herself with, a pool of rage and worry was beginning to settle in her gut. Mara took a deep breath to calm herself and reached out into the blackness of space for the first time in ages. She was looking for a storm and the further she stretched herself out into the void, the more concerned the Queen became that she wasn't going to find her.

Finally, a spark, shock of lightning jolted Mara from her mediation.

Uldren stopped when he heard the doors to the throne room open and saw his Queen standing in the doorway. Mara's appearance and icy blue gaze stopped everything and silence took over the room, everyone was waiting for the Queen to speak.

"The Red Legion has come to our world and they have attacked the Traveler. The Vanguard has scattered. They have won." She paused, "Or so they think. The Red Legion has no idea what they have done; who they have enraged. I want all available units prepared for battle. The Crows will monitor cabal movements on the edge of the Reef. All injured Guardians are to be taken care of and upon recovery outfitted for battle. When the storm comes to the Red Legion, the Reef will assist the Guardians in their battle to take back the Last City."

He watched from his throne room as the Traveler was covered slowly in the cage that had been designed to help him harness the light within.

"Do you see Traveler, all that I have done?" He asked it, knowing he would gain no response to his words. "Grace me with your Light and take your place, at the center of my empire. See me and the Red Legion will be your true Guardians."

There was no answer to his words, at least not from the ball that hung seemingly motionless in the air.

"Dominus. The City is secure, those who fled are being hunted and those foolish enough to remain have been executed." His mentor told him as he came closer, his steps surprisingly light for his size. "Victory as with all things, if yours to claim."

"This victory is as much yours as mine, old friend." He stated.

"All that remains is the completion of the cage around this great machine, then we may being the extraction of its power and put it to its rightful use."

"They call it the Traveler." He reminded.

His friend hid the huff to his tone well, "I would contend that other civilizations may be more precise in their naming. Its functions can be controlled and exploited as we have so clearly proven."

He turned his attention back to the traveler outside, watching the cage pieces being carefully placed around it. "Yet the believe it to be a God."

"Dominus-" his friend began then paused and took a breath. "Ghaul." He said and at once he attention was on his old friend again. "We have spent our lives, you and I working to reshape our society, reforge out people, rebuild an empire nearly destroyed by Calus's greed and corruption. There is nothing in this Universe greater than you!" he stated firmly. "The Red Legion will have that machine's power. You will be called Emperor! What more would the Dominus have?" he asked spreading his arms wide as if to show off the traveler outside as the final prize.

"I would have words with my guest." He stated and the roof above him spiraled open and slowly lowered his 'guest' from his prison.

A man with a golden mask over his face, dressed in white robes.

"So," he greeted as the man lifted his head. "You're the one who speaks for the Traveler."

A single shot rang out over the morning air and a Dreg who had been foolish enough to stick its head out of its cover fell limp to the ground.

"Well fuck." Ace huffed.

"Damn it Rose! I had that shot!" J-Cey yelled.

"Should have taken it then." Rose yelled back jumping from her own cover and sliding down the scrap pile to the entrance of the small Cave the Dreg had been trying to defend. "Besides there's nothing in here."

"What? Not even a scrap pile?"

"Nope, just a lot of dust." The huntress sighed, "Better head back, the City's local trouble makers aren't even big enough in numbers to be a problem for us again anytime soon." She said, already mounting her Sparrow with a chuckle as Bing took his place between the handlebars.

Five days -four if you didn't include today- they had been going from place to place scouting, killing, patrolling and picking of the last of the Hive and Fallen scavengers, driving them away from the Last City and cleaning up the mess they left behind in some effort to keep their home safe from a second take over and Five days Rose had been finding herself utterly bored with the work.

She'd become so use to fighting bigger threats with Arielle and her teammates that she found no thrill in the Hive or Fallen anymore, and she was almost wishing for a Raven to show up just to prove she could still take them down.

Crazy, some might say, but Rose had spent time in a world where Hive, Fallen and Vex hadn't been much of a threat to anyone because the Light had been so successful in surviving, where the Walls of the Last City had never been breached, where the Traveler was almost whole and the air was alive with music, happiness and love. She had earnt so much there, unlocking the Blade Dancing ability and then on into the Nightstalker's bow with seeming ease, helped destroy the House of Wolves, met the Queen of the Reef, hell she'd helped rescue the Queen from the Taken King Oryx.

And yet, here she was a year later, hunting down starving Thrall, houseless Dregs and sending reports back and forth and doing so many simple tasks that life seemed almost boring. Rose sighed and shook her head. No, it wasn't the lack of a challenge here that was getting to her, it was the lack of people who understood what she had been through to get this good at her duty as a Guardian.

Arielle had been every bit a friend and mentor to her, teaching her how to get shit done and enjoy the freedom it gave her. Orion, despite his kill stealing habits, taught her how to enjoy the down time and relax whenever the chance came to just stop and take a minute to look at the nice view or enjoy the warmth of the sun and Vlad.

She chuckled, Vlad's lessons had been so subtle and so Hunter like she'd not realized she was learning them until they'd been taught, little changed to her stance, adjustments to her weapons and hand to hand style. Between the three of them and the lessons they had taught her, Rose had found herself more confident, bolder and braver in so many ways and now, here in the world she belonged in she felt out of place and lost, going back and forth between worlds as if everything was on auto pilot.

Despite the year that had passed she'd struggled to accept there was no way to go back to that world, she still felt she had belonged there more than here, in the world she had been revived in and in every sense of the words, she missed them.

"Daydreaming the light away Rose?" A voice asked and Rose blinked, realizing that somehow she'd made it home and all the way to the Tower Roof while lost in her own thoughts. "You walked right past Amanda without a word, she said you had your 'thinking face' on." Cayde said as he hopped over the railing to join her with a classical Cayde-6 smile.

"Yea, I guess I just got lost in my head again." She sighed, turning slightly to nod in greeting to him. "What brings you to the best view in the house?"

"I heard a Huntress was stealing kills." Cayde said and Rose winced, "Look kid, I know you got a lot better at this since you saved us, but not everyone is out for your high score."

"I know, I know its just, well its…" she tried to think of the words but none came, and in the end she slumped in defeat and shook her head, "I don't even know what it is Cayde."

"Nostalgia?" he offered, "Wanting to be there instead of here even though you were found here."

"How do you know me better than I do?" Rose asked.

"I don't, I just know what I see in my Hunters." The Exo Vanguard stated with a cocky smirk that faded when he saw the look on her face. "You really don't want to think you can't get back there somehow."

"It's not that I don't like it here Cayde, really I do, I missed everyone here and when Watson showed me what happened to everyone I felt like I'd failed everyone. But being there, going through all that and having someone to help me get back up and keep going. Even when I understood that shooting the shard Oryx had could mean I died, I wasn't afraid to shoot it."

"But coming back wasn't what you thought it would be?" Cayde asked.

"I didn't think I would come back." Rose admitted. "Bing was so quiet and he wouldn't answer me no matter how I tried to wake him. I thought when everything went dark, that I was dead."

Cayde made a sound of understanding then came a silence, Rose didn't know how to fill it so she let it be, she'd never been good with explaining how she felt when she wasn't angry or rambling, but this wasn't the time to ramble on and on like a child, Cayde might not be her father or even related to her, but he was the one she answered to as a Hunter, babbling like a child to him would only make her look a fool.

She chuckled realized her thoughts were exactly what Arielle would say to her where she here now.

Cayde watched her, but said nothing, really there wasn't much he could say, he didn't know what she'd gone through in the other world, only that whatever it had been was enough to grant her not only the Arc Blades, but also the Void Bow that now rested unseen on her back, a constant shadow all Nightstalkers carried, a brand that proved they had taken on a darkness in their own hearts and won.

When he'd sent her to Venus all that time ago, Rose had been so young, too young to be a Nightstalker, but the times had called on all of them to be at their best, even Cayde himself had hung up the Golden Gun and lifted his bow once again to face the Devils, teaching all he knew the Hunters that came in every way he knew until he had been unable to devote time to them and instead passed the duty of training off to his Elite. Rose had been one of the last to come to him, scared, confused, lost in herself and desperate for some way to help make it right, instead of breaking her with the harsh truths, he had taken her under his cloak and taught her as much as he could in what little time they'd had, she'd been a fast learner thankfully but she was FAR from ready to go out in the wilds alone. When the time had come, he'd sent her to the Blacksnakes with every prayer and plead to the Traveler that she survived, only to hear not even a week later that she'd gone missing before Venus went dark. It had been a hard blow, but he'd had no time to mourn the lost Hunters as his home and friends were destroyed around him in their last moments before the Darkness had won.

Or, so they had all thought.

Somehow, by some miracle of glitching Vex tech and Hunter's luck, Rose had lived, sent from this world to another and fought on, clinging to the hope and dream that she might be of use in this new world, fighting with all her heart and Light until the very end. He'd watched the Vison of Light like a dream unfolding before his optics when he'd woken again, filled with new life and new energy thanks to the actions of this once lost Hunter.

And now when all was said and done, a year after her victory and rebuilding all they had lost, he found himself looking not at a young hunter with no clue about her duty, but a true Hunter like he had been before taking up the Vanguard mantle. He would never understand what bonds she held with the other world, but it was clear they were deep rooted and meant too much to be cast aside and forgotten.

"I can't see what the future holds for you Rose." He said at last, gently putting his hand to her shoulder. "But I do know that as long as we have memories of people we care about, they are never far from us in heart and mind. I don't know what you went through with the Guardians of the other world, but I am damn sure that they have not forgotten you or what you did for them."

"Thank you Cayde." Rose smiled then blinked, "Oh, I forgot." She said tugging the gloves off her hands and offering them to Cayde, "These are yours."

Cayde chuckled and shook his head, "Nah, keep 'em, they served you well and fit you better now." He stated, "Besides, I got dozens more now that we have time to sit and enjoy the peace for a little while." He added and headed away from the roof. Rose smiled and nodded, watching the Hunter Vanguard leave the roof top before turning to look at the now starlit sky above.

"So, what are we going to do?" Bing asked, as he flittered into view beside her head.

"I'm not sure." She said, brushing her hair back from her face with a sigh. "I don't know why but I feel so lost here, or why I can't let go of that thought I can somehow get back…"

"Maybe we should go see the Speaker about it? He's not so busy now that things have calmed down and we have time to relax so many be he'll know what to do and how to help?" The Ghost asked.

Rose smiled and nodded, "We'll visit him when the sun's up, its late already."

"Ok." Bing chimed and followed Rose as she made her way down the steps to get back inside the Tower and headed for her room.

She lay on her bed, waiting for sleep to come while trying to calm her mind, but there were still so many questions she had no answers to. Where was the Body of the Queen in her world? Where were the Awoken who had died here in that last fight? The Reef was in such a mess no one dared travel there, no one wanted to disrespect the Queen's home after all that had happened.

And yet, when she looked to that area of the stars from her ship when flying to the worlds beyond it, she swore she was something in the dark vail of mist that now hung on the Reef, something watching her, waiting for her to dare set foot within the Reef that once meant so much to her people.

Would it be wise to go there? And if she did go there, would she be welcomed with Awoken guards or Fallen Wolves?

It was impossible to tell.

"Stop thinking so much." Bing said and lightly bumped her head with his shell. "Go to sleep."

Rose smiled and nodded, rolling onto her side and gently putting a hand over Bing's shell, a physical assurance he was there, "Good night Bing."

"Good night Rose." Bing chimed and slowly the darkness of sleep covered her, allowing her to slip into dreams.

Storm clouds swallowed her whole throwing her from the peaceful City into a war zone. Smoke, fire, gunshots and fear echoed around her, pulling and throwing her this way and that as giants in armour marched over the city, killing millions, crushing Ghosts and slaying Guardians easily, burning all she knew as home and claiming it as their own, caging the Traveler like some kind of animal. She heard Arielle scream, Orion's battle cry cut short by something and Vlad's blood chilling death cry before she saw them, scattered and broken before her and stood over them, a Cabal commander so some kind, armoured in white.

"Guardian…" Bing asked, his shell shaking and trembling as something sucked the Light from him. "Something's wrong..." he managed to say before he fell from the air.

"Welcome to a world, without Light." The Cabal stated as Rose pulled Bing under her body, away from the Cabal's heavy foot falls as he approached.

"Do not look at me Creature!" He snarled and smacked Rose aside, knocking the wind from her as she struggled to her feet again. "You are weak! Undisciplined. You cower behind walls." He accused, marching towards her as she struggled to her feet. "You are not brave. You have merely forgotten the fear of death." He stated bending to look her in the face. "Allow me to reacquaint you."

The hit sent Rose flying, landing hard on the edge of the ship as Bing fell from her grasps and plummeted to the harsh ground below. "Bing!"

"Your kind never deserved the power you were given." The Cabal said as she forced herself up to her knees. "I am Ghaul, and your Light is mine."

"NO!"

There was a bird of blinding white light that caught her then, gently carrying her with it as it flew through the stars, past strange shapes and colours and worlds she knew, under water and through the City streets with ease, bringing her to the Shard, a cast off part of the Traveler lost somewhere amongst the wilds after the collapse, she'd heard of it, but never seen it…

Then it fled her vision.

"Rose?"

"Rose wake up!"

"Rose!"

Rose shot up from her bed, smacking J-Cey away with such force she felt the bones in her arms shake from the impact, her eyes wide and her skin covered in sweat as she struggled to catch her breath, searching the room for any sing of the threat she'd seen just moments ago.

Nothing, she was safe in her own room, Bing hovering shaking in fear as he hid in her armour as Ace and J-Cey waited for her to calm down.

"A nightmare?" Rose asked.

A soft, weak chime sounded from near by and Rose looked to the source to find the Speaker stood at her door, his Ghost hovering at his shoulder and in his hands-

"A Vision, brought to you from their world by this little one." The Speaker said, cradling his other world's Ghost gently as it lay, weak and shaking in his palms.

"Cabal in the city…?" Rose asked, "How? How did they get in…?"

The weak Ghost chimed and clicked softly, trying to float on its own for a moment only to fall back into the Speaker's hands as its Light was so weak. The Speaker came closer and gently handed Rose the Ghost of his other self, watching her attach the charge cables from her armour to its shell to allow it the energy it so desperately needed without question or hesitation.

"How? I don't know the way back." Rose said. The Ghost gave another slow, almost musical series of sounds and Rose listened, gently rubbing the Shell trying to sooth the obvious pain the Ghost was in. Then, the Shell went limp and the optic flickered out, even with the charge it was getting from her, the Ghost was too weak to remain online.

Rose gently tucked the Shell into her armour to rest safely, "Speaker-"

"I know Rose." He nodded, handing her a data pad. "Go and do what you must, Guardian."

"Thank you." Rose smiled as the Speaker walked away.

"Want us to come with you?" Ace asked looking at the coordinates she had been given on the data pad. "You're heading for the Dead Zone, even Cayde doesn't go out there alone."

"No." Rose said simply.

"But Rose-"

"If you come with me, you'll just get stuck there or worse." Rose said cutting J-Cey off, "I have to do this on my own."

"Rose…" Ace sighed, "You aren't planning on coming back this time, are you?"

"I didn't even know I'd come back last time." Rose admitted. "I watched you and this world die knowing I couldn't do anything to stop it, please don't ask me to sit back and watch that world die now."

J-Cey shook his head, "At least let us fly with you to the Dead Zone. The Fallen have been gathering there and we're not well liked as it is out there." He pleaded, "You're good Rose, but even you can't take on an army by yourself."

"I'm a Hunter J-Cey, I can sneak past an Army." Rose reminded, "As much as I'd love to take you with me, I can't. You'd get hurt or worse and I'm not watching you both die again because of me."

"Because of you? Rose we chose to stay-"

"Because you were waiting for me." Rose reminded and Ace fell silent, "You waited for me on Venus and it got you both killed, you can't do that again, Ace, I can't know that you died waiting for me to come home again."

"Rose." J-Cey tried to say.

"I will make Commander Zavala keep you on lock down until I'm gone if I have too." Rose stated firmly and while it seemed harsh, if it kept them from dying for her again then Rose would go to Commander for help.

Eventually, Ace and J-Cey agreed to stay behind, but only if Rose let them stay on comms with her until they either lost signal or Rose left. It was small comfort, but it was all Rose could offer to keep them safe from dying again.

"Are we really doing this?" Bing asked as she sat in the pilot seat of her ship, locking in the coordinates from the Speaker.

"We are," She nodded.

"Do you think they are ok?"

"They better be." Rose said as the ship hummed to life. "Ready to go home?"

Bing bounced in a nod and settled near her shoulder. "Fly fast."

Rose smiled and threw the throttle into full, feeling the ship shoot forwards, carrying them easily into the sky and through the clouds, hoping that she wasn't too late to save her friends from the horrid vision she had witnessed.

A warmth bloomed against her chest where the Speaker's ghost sat as they got closer and closer to the Dead Zone, pulling at her light and abilities for more and more power until at last the sting was too much and Rose winced, forcing the ship into Autopilot as she clutched her chest. "What's happening?!"

The Ghost within her armour gave a soft apologetic sound before the burning was too much as Rose felt the world go white.

Kuji sighed as he hugged his cloak a little tighter around himself, without the heat of his Sol class, he felt the cold wind against his skin much easier since his armour was damaged and dented, even with the warmth from the small fire they had dared to set up, it was a terrible snowy night tonight and it left him wishing he had a big plummily stuffed blanket to hide from the cold in.

"How do you cope with this cold?" He asked Grampa as the Titan tossed another thick stick of wood on the fire. "You're all metal and parts, not flesh and bone, how don't you freeze up?"

"Internal heating system," The Exo stated calmly with the hint of a smile. "You Humans are all meaty and full of bones that you can't fit any kind of tech inside without killing yourselves." He added and tossed a fleece blanket at Kuji. "Here."

"You are a life saver my man." The Human smiled and buried himself into the blanket. "So, what's the plan?"

"We wait for the night to fall, then we fly to the Farm, we beg Hawthorne for some ammo and a nice big bomb then go and kick Cabal ass." Grampa stated then stopped as Iris flickered to life beside him and looked up. "Iris?"

"Do you feel it? Coming towards us… Valmont wake up!" Iris yelled at the still sleeping Ghost.

"What is it Iris? What's coming?" Grampa asked.

"Don't you feel it?" Val asked as he woke up, "Light… real Light coming right at us."

"Where?" Kuji asked looking around then yelped as Grampa yanked him out of sight as a Cabal gunship patrol flew overhead, "Oh shit!"

"That's not good." Grampa growled as the ship began to scan for them, Iris and Val taking shelter within their Guardians' armours.

The safety was all they had as the Gunship opened fire and shredded Grampa's ship in seconds, bullets then chasing Kuji and Grampa as they ran for their lives through the snow and limited cover of dead trees and rocks.

"How do we get out of this one?" Kuji yelled jumping a fallen log seconds before the log was shattered by bullets.

"Run like hell!" Grampa answered just as the sky above cackled with such force and such energy it gave him surges and forced him to eth ground as something tore through the air with enough speed to knock Kuji off his feet and face first into the snow.

The two rolled to a stop in a heap at the foot of a large cluster of rocks and watched in awe as a Ceres Galliot rained down bullets into the Cabal ship from above, dogging the slower moving ship with sharp turns and swift jerks to dodge the retaliating gunfire.

"Someone you know?" Grampa asked Kuji.

"Nope. Now kindly get off," Kuji wheezed, from his place under the Titan's back. "Fuck why are Exo's so heavy?"

"All metal no bones." Grampa reminded, as the ships chased each other for a short time before the Ceres Galliot got a shot off and sent the Cabal ship into a tail spin before it erupted in a ball of fire. "Nice shooting!"

The Ceres landed in the snow near them and the gang plank lowered for them as the pilot waved them up, "Are you guys alright?"

"We are now," Grampa nodded, "by chance are you heading for the Farm?" he asked as Kuji helped Iris and Val with searching the wreck of his ship for anything useful.

"Dead Zone actually," the female Hunter said, "I need to get to the Shard of the Traval-AH!" She cried clutching her chest as she suddenly dropped to her knees, "Fuck… ow, ow, ow…" she hissed. "What the fuck is happening?"

"Losing the Light hit all of us hard." The Titan explained, helping her back to her feet.

"Losing the Light-? Wait- what do you mean? What happened?" The Hunter asked. "Where is the Light?"

"Long story, but if you don't mind us piggybacking a ride in your ship, we'll tell you what we know." The Exo offered.

"Sounds fair," she said and after quickly gathering what they needed from the ruins of Grampa's ship and the downed Cabal Gunship, the three of them were off and flying at a calm steady speed, keeping a close eye on the radar to try and avoid the Cabal ships that might be hunting for stragglers.

"My name's Rose, this is Bing." The Huntress said after a while.

"Name's Grampa, this is Kuji and these two are Iris and Valmont." The Titan introduced. "are you the same Rose who helped in the fight against Oryx?"

"I am." She nodded, "Arielle, Orion and Vlad, do you know what happened to them?"

"Last we heard they got out of the city, but nothing after that, the Red Legion has cut of all communication, we're getting short bursts from the Reef now and then, but nothing good." Grampa explained.

"Oh stars, what the fuck happened?" Rose asked.

"We don't know how they got in." Kuji sighed, rubbing his face with his hands, "One minute the skies are clear, bright and all is good, then we were in the middle of a blood bath, Cabal at every turn and no idea what the fuck they want, we got Orion onto their command ship but before we could make a final assault they caged the Traveler and cut off the light, after that, Guardians and Ghosts didn't stand a chance."

"The Speaker? The Vanguard?" Rose asked.

"Vanguards off world, somewhere." Kuji said, "No one knows where the Speaker is." A soft chime made Grampa and Kuji blink and then watching some confusion as the Speaker's Ghost flickered from within Rose's chest plates. "Um…"

"He came to my world." Rose explained lightly catching the white shelled Ghost in her hand, "Used a fancy trick to get us here."

The Ghost chimed softly and then gave a short series of whistles and bleeps that only the other Ghosts could understand. "He says he's sorry he hurt you, but there was no time to explain what was happening." Val explained.

"You, like the rest of the Guardians now, likely can't use your class abilities anymore either." Iris stated, "since we lost the connection with the Traveler all; we can do is heal, not revive."

"Not at all?" Bing asked as he slowly floated up to join Val and Iris "How is that possible?"

"The Red Legion has completely cut us off from the Traveler," Iris stated, "The Light feeds the classes, without it, Guardians are just normal people. Some of us got off Earth, but now, we're just hand fulls of Guardians in some places and not a lot of plans."

"We have guns, bullets, fists and teeth." Rose stated, "We can still fight. That's a plan."

"Against the Red Legion?" Val asked, "Sweet heart, the Red Legion is unbeaten in the ENTIRE history of their colours, not even a wealth of bullets will help against them."

"We come from a world where having no Light just meant you had to be more careful not to get caught," Rose stated, "You used what you had and you made do in the worst places, even if that meant you had to hide amongst dead team mates, covering yourself in Hive ick or dragging a Fallen corpse around to mask your sent you did it."

"That sounds gross." Grampa shuddered.

"Its how you survived." Rose said. "The Cabal never became much of a threat in my world because the Hive wiped them out, but I remember what Ikora taught me about them. They use codes, encryptions and hacked signals to spy on others, all we have to do is work a back loop and hack into the signals to listen in, or we can rig a loop message to draw them out and take them out with bombs and sniper fire."

"That… that could actually work." Kuji said, "But we'd need more guns and help setting that kinda thing up."

"You mentioned a Farm." Rose said, "Is it near the Dead Zone?"

"Yea, we're heading there to meet up with Lord Shaxx," Grampa stated.

"Then I vote we see what the Shard has to offer us first." Rose said then what she got blink looks she explained, "When he came into my world the Speaker's Ghost gave me a vision of the Shard of the Traveler, I have to go there."

"Well, it is on the way and we need any help we can get." Kuji said. "I just hope you have enough bullets, the New Fallen House rules that area."

"What house?" Rose asked.

"Judgement, put they fly a purple banner not the green one Variks uses." Grampa explained.

"I'm gonna need to hear what's happened since the Fight with Oryx at some point." Rose said.

"Well, after the victory party, the next big fight was out in the plague lands, House Devils had found a way to implement what Lord Saladin called Siva into themselves, making themselves Devil Splicers. We spent about six months battling them back and cleaning up the mess from that little fall out and then another six months clearing out left over clusters of Hive, Taken and Splicers." Grampa explained briefly.

"We're coming up on the Shard." Bing said.

"Until we know what's going on, you stay inside my armour, understand?" Rose said to her Ghost.

"I understand." Bing bounced in a nod.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two;

Blooms of Light.

"This is Anna Lee of the Iron Wolves, calling from the Reef, if any Guardian can hear me please respond." Anna Lee repeated herself for the umpteenth time in as many hours.

"Anything?" Petra asked as Anna Lee slowly worked her way through the channels of her comm device, using her Ghost, Fang as a signal booster to try and connect with other Guardian frequencies, she'd been at it for hours, slowly walking back and forth along the pipes and railings of the outpost, searching for the best place to get a signal.

Petra had returned from the fight at the borders to refuel her ship for the fourth time in as many battles, placing a dozen more Ghost Shells on the table by near a handful of other Guardians who were helping to make shells and fix damaged weapons and armour, all that had been found of those who had not made it back.

"Nothing but static and white noise." Fang said as she floated slightly ahead and above of Anna Lee, her shell pulsing in and out in a wide greenish ball of light as she tried to help boost the comm signal. "Hold on, I've got something on Frequency 19 8 1 24 24."

"That's Shaxx's privet line." Anna Lee stated as she stood at the top of a staircase near the refuelling ships listening carefully as Fang paused slowly trying to adjust the signal to clear the channel of static.

Slowly the channel cleared, but instead of words, the channel was filled with a strange sound never heard on the Reef before, a rapid tapping sound with some unknown pattern.

"What is it?" Uldren asked as he came over, hearing the odd sound.

"Morse Code." Anna Lee smiled. "Lord Saladin and Lord Shaxx teach it, an old way of talking using dots and dashes to make words, easy to learn but hard to master, Warlocks are better at it but some other Guardians use it."

"What does it mean?" Petra asked.

"All Earth-bound Guardians, retreat to the EDZ and follow Iron Wolf markers for Hawthorne's Farm. Safety and shelter there. It's the same message repeating over again." Anna Lee translated after a few minutes.

"Who is sending the message?" Uldren asked.

"It has to be Lord Shaxx," Fang said, still hovering around as the sounds continued. "Lord Saladin would be using a different frequency."

"Who is Hawthorne?" Petra asked.

"I have no idea but whoever they are, we owe them thanks." Anna Lee said as she and Fang went back to searching for some kind of response on the channels.

"We're sitting ducks up here," Orion hissed softly as he watched for any kind of sign the Hive had seen them.

"This is the highest place we can get for now." Vlad reminded though he was in no better mood.

Arielle sighed, she could understand the frustration of her team mates, but stars beyond and above they had to try something.

For the last six hours that had been moving slowly and quietly through Hive invested hall ways and corridors to try and reach a high platform, hoping that with the combined efforts of their Ghosts as Signal boosters, they could get a message out to any other Guardian in the area but so far they hadn't gotten much from anyone, just static and automated messages.

They'd picked up a faint message in Morse Code Vlad had tried to decipher, but it was too weak and they had been forced to move on from that area after an Ogre had lumbered past.

Now they were atop a high platform, the highest they could reach without taking a dip in the Oceans of Titan and while Orion and Vlad kept watch, she was trying to get a signal out while Vakarian, Wrex and Sovereign feed the signal through their own systems, hoping it would get the boost it needed.

"We got something." Vakarian said, strained and tired from so many near misses and close calls. "Frequency 29-0. Sound like. Anna Lee."

~ "Hello? *static* Anyone hear- *static* anyone?" ~

"Just a little more..." Arielle urged as she typed in the comm frequency and smiled as the static cleared up. "Anna Lee this is Arielle, do you read me?"

~ "Arielle?! Thank the Stars! Variks tell the Queen I have Arielle on the comms Hurry!" ~ Anna Lee answered the smile evident in her voice. ~ "You have no idea how good it is to hear a familiar voice!" ~

"You're on the Reef?" Arielle asked.

~ "I was on patrol in the Dreadnaught with some younger Guardians when the Light got sucked out of us, we got out but we're trapped at the Reef by the Red Legion, they've been swarming the bounders. The Queen has extended her aid to us." ~ The Iron Warlock explained, ~ "We're making shells, bullets and helping load up the Reef defences, but we're losing people fast, so far we have lost sixty Guardians and only half of the Ghosts make it back before the Cabal grab them, please tell me you guys have a plan?" ~

"No such luck, Titan's been overrun with House Judgement and Hive." Arielle explained, "We're holding but any plans you or Saix can offer would be lovely."

~ "Saix isn't with you?" ~ Anna Lee asked as the channel began to whine and haze slightly. ~ "-There still Guardians on Earth?" ~

"We don't know." Arielle said trying to keep the signal clear. "We lost track of Cayde and no one has any idea where Eris, Saladin, Shaxx and the others are. Anna Lee? Anna Lee can you still hear me?"

~ "I hear you Arielle but *static* in and out. Arielle?" ~

"We're losing the signal." Vakarian stated.

"Hold out a little longer." Arielle pleaded.

~ "Arielle *static* can you *static* me? *static* sure how long *static* Arielle? Ariel-*static* - still hear me?"~

"Anna Lee? Anna Lee respond! Damn it we've lost signal." Arielle cursed as the channel filled with static once again. "Shit!" There was a sudden groaning all around them and a bellowing roar of challenge echoed around the room.

"We gotta move!" Orion yelled, "Hive Knights on the way up!"

"Grab your Ghost and let's get back to Zavala, we stay here any longer we're Hive food." Vlad ordered already at the door to the room ready to cover the retreat to a safer area.

"What happened?" Uldren demanded.

"We lost signal." Fang explained, "I'm trying to reconnect, but its just static,"

"Keep trying, switch to the Warlock mentor/student Frequencies if you have too." Anna Lee said, tapping at her comm again. "There has to be a way to cut through the static and make a solid connection."

"Guardian." The Queen's tone left no room for argument or avoidance and Anna Lee turned to the Queen. "Explain."

"I'm sorry your Grace, but it makes no sense we had Arielle on the comms and the signal was clear and strong, no static, no white nose, it was a clean channel. But then we lost it." Anna Lee explained, "I can't understand how, the signal we had was perfect for a few seconds and then it just fell apart."

"Then why can you not reconnect with her?" Uldren growled.

"We have the frequency locked, it's just not possible to reconnect with it," Fang explained, "It's there and I can find it one all my searches, but something is cutting the connection off every time I try to re-establish the link."

The Queen gave nothing away as she stood and listened to what was said and watched Fang attempt to re-establish a comm link with Arielle's Ghost only to have static fill the channel.

"You will continue to try and break through the static." She said evenly, "Variks, you will help the Guardian with her task and inform me the moment you have succeeded in making and maintaining contact with Arielle once again."

"Yes My Queen, My Kell." The old Vandal bowled as the Queen turned and headed back to her chambers while the Prince headed for the docks to check on the ships that were refuelling ready to fight again. "Now, what is trouble, Hmmmm?"

"The Blackened Forest." Val shuddered from inside Kuji's armour. "Creepy place."

"Rumour has it that this place is called the Dead Zone because of the corruption the Shard keeps putting out. Its twisted the land around it." Iris explained and Grampa could feel her shell shaking behind the plating of his armour.

"How could the Shard do this to the land?" Bing asked.

"Same way Darkness shaped the Hive." Rose said using her sniper scope to search the area ahead and around them. "This isn't gonna be easy."

"The fun stuff never is." Kuji said checking his rifle ammo.

"So, we go in, shoot everything on the way to the Shard and then?" Grampa asked also counting his ammo.

"Then we see what it is that the Speaker wanted us to see," Rose said lightly petting the plating where the Speaker's Ghost rested. "A hope to stars we can use it to beat the Red Legion."

"Amen to that." Kuji nodded.

"Here." Grampa called out, "We can squeeze through here." He added showing them a small gap in the wall they could just fit through.

Slowly, the three of them worked their way into the twisted wildness, climbing over thick tree roots, rushed old trucks and cars and through odd-looking plants and shining stones that looked beautiful, coming to a cave they paused as Rose looked over the new House Banner.

"The mark's different," Rose said looking at the purple cloth and the green mark she had from Variks' files. "It's not House Judgment."

"We don't have a lot of intel on them, but then again we've never been this close to any of them for so long, usually they cut and run when they realize we are beating them." Grampa said, "There are two new kinda of Fallen in this house too, the ones with shock spears are called Wretches and hold the same rank as Dregs in the Fallen ranks, the ones with cloaks and blades are Marauders."

"They cloak and crawl just like Stealth Vandals, right?" Rose asked as they kept moving, pausing in a ruined old building to count their ammo ago and make sure they were ready for whatever came next.

"Yep," Grampa nodded. "Sneaky fuckers."

"Anyone else feel like we are being watched?" Kuji asked.

"They've been watching us since we left the cave." Grampa said, "Keep seeing eyes in places they shouldn't be, they vanish when I turn to them."

"Cloaked Fallen. At least that hasn't changed." Rose said, "Bing, wide scan, give me a best guess."

"Scanning." Bing said, "Small battalion, kinda like a raiding party." He stated.

"Devil size?" Kuji asked, "Because they have like twenty to a party so not so big."

"No, Wolves and in our world their parties were between sixty to seventy strong." Bing explained.

"Well shit." Kuji sighed as they came out of a ruined building to see the Shard before them, stray strikes of what looked like lightning dancing from the jagged edges and ghostly flames slowly licking away at the insides though they left no charring or damage in their wake.

"It kinda looks pretty." Rose said, "Scary, but pretty."

"I have to agree with her." Iris stated.

"Ready?" Grampa asked.

"Not really, but we don't have much choice." Kuji said.

Rose smiled, "Orion would call that sporting chances." She stated and stepped off the broken section of roof and let herself fall to the ground with a gentle 'thud'. "Coming?"

"She's almost as crazy as we are." Grampa said.

"Yep." Kuji nodded, following Rose down. "It's a Hunter trait," he added.

"They you are all crazy and will go running head first in to death?" Grampa asked.

"Dude when you say it like that we sound like suicidal idiots." Kuji huffed as the Exo Titan joined them.

"How about," Rose began with a smile, "We're a bunch of girls and boys with no understanding of self-preservation and we live for the thrill of doing the dumbest shit we can and then after we face plant into the ground we get up and ask can we do it again."

"I like the way she explains it better." Kuji laughed and then the bullets started flying. "Fun Time!"

"Amen to that." Rose smiled as she followed Grampa and Kuji into the fight, watching for the tell-tale shimmering of a cloak before she squeezed the trigger, using her knife when the Fallen got close, while using her gun to keep the cloaked Fallen at a distance.

"Two in one!" Kuji yelled out from somewhere. "That's my total up to four hundred!"

"Five hundred and six. Five hundred and seven. Five hundred and eight. Five hundred and nine," Grampa counted with each punch he landed.

"Why do boys always make things into a score match?" Rose asked kicking a dreg with enough force it bounced off the tree she'd kicked it against and sagged lifelessly to the ground.

"Because its fun!" Kuji laughed. "Hey they're running away."

"They saw your ugly mug." Grampa sniggered cracking his knuckles. "Iris?"

"I think we scared them off." Iris said after a moment of silence, slowly flickering out of Grampa's armour, hovering over the Titan's right shoulder, Val hovering at Kuji's left shoulder while Bing hovered close to the Speaker's Ghost in Rose's hands.

"This is why we were lead here…" Iris said with relief as she floated closer to the Shard.

"What's so important about this thing?" Grampa asked, "Iris?"

"Do you feel it?" Bing asked as he joined Iris closer to the shard, "I haven't been this close to the Light since…"

"Since we were created." Val said with a smile in his words as he twisted his shell. "Its here, pure true Light!"

Rose smiled and gently lifted the Speaker's Ghost up carefully, "Can it help you?" She asked him.

The Ghost gave a soft chiming sound as it began to hover from Rose's hands and open its shell wide, slowly pulling the Light from eth Shard and gathering it close.

"Hold on to your helmets." Bing warned as he faced Rose opening his own shell and letting the Light seep through his shell.

It was a familiar feeling to all of them, a tickle of static energy that itched to be free, a warm spark that could burn forever and a chill that made the spin shiver, it all came racing back into their bodies and for a moment, they felt invincible.

"Do you feel it?" Iris asked Grampa as the titan felt Void energy charge through his body. "It's back!"

"The Light is back!" Val cheered as Kuji's hands crackled with Arc energy. "Thank the Traveler!"

"We're back." Rose smiled as sparks tickled her skin.

"Eyes up, Guardians." Bing warned as Fallen began to hiss and chatter around them.

Rose smiled, "Come on then boys." She challenged and snatched the air at her side, feeling the Arc energy form a powerful staff in her palm, twirling it with ease and levelling the spear like tip at the shimmering masses surrounding them. "Let's dance!" she charged.

"YE-HA!" Kuji laughed and he swung his own staff in a wide sweep and sent a lash of Arc energy at the incoming Fallen.

"Frisbee!" Grampa yelled as he spun at the hip and let the Void shield fly from his arm, watching it fly between Dregs, Vandals, Wretches and Marauders like a pin ball bouncing off boarders. "High Score!"

"Watch out!" Iris yelled as two Fallen Captains came from the shadows.

"Oh shit," Kuji winced rolling back, to avoid the incoming attack from the Captains. "Move!" he warned as a shadow fell over Rose.

Rose jumped back, feeling the Arc Staff flicker out for just a moment before she clenched her fist and grabbed it once again. "Dibs!" she yelled kicking off against the tree and charging the Fallen that had tried to land on her.

"She's upstaging you Kuji!" Grampa laughed as he felt the Void burn hot in his chest once again, letting it form a second shield that he flung at the Captain before him.

"Aw hell no man! I am not losing my title to no body!" the Human Hunter asserted and charged the third Captain.

He felt a pull at his chest as he hung in his restraints, unable to fight as his own light was drained slowly from his body, a warmth that could only be one things and he smiled beneath his mask.

His Ghost had escaped and now he was able to feel the little one's efforts even though they were apart.

It would anger his captor greatly when word reached him, but for now, the Speaker took pleasure in knowing his Ghost was safe and the Light was fighting back in its own way.

The Queen paused in her step at a light touch to her mind, four tiny sparks of Light, shinning into the darkness around the earth, burning like new born stars.

"My Queen?" Uldren asked as he saw his sister's sudden pause.

The Queen was still for a moment then slowly, her lips curled into a smile. "Hope has returned."

"Aw, man! What a rush!" Kuji cheered as he rested against the tree panting heavily as he came down from his momentary rush of adrenaline. "Oh man that felt good."

"I hear you, I feel like a new man!" Grampa smiled as he tested his once aching joints. "It feels good to be back in the game."

"Hey looky here." Kuji called moving a low hanging branch aside to show a Fallen loot chest.

"Could be something useful inside." Grampa said heaving the grave out of the hiding hole it was half hidden in and pried the lid open. "Score!"

"What'd you find?" Rose asked then smiled as the Titan heaved a heavy rocket launcher from the chest it looked odd, as long as it worked, she didn't care.

"Wardclif Coil," Grampa smiled. "Good for taking down small groups and a nice big punch when fighting Walker."

"An Ace of Spades, slightly banged up and scratched," Kuji said looking at a hand cannon that had been in the chest as well, inspecting the barrel and hammer carefully, "But still in good nick."

"In that case, these beauty is mine." Rose smiled lifting a sniper rifle from the chest.

"That's the Borealis." Kuji said, "Can use Arc, Sol and Void rounds."

"Good to know." Rose nodded.

"Rose." Bing said as he floated by the foot of the Shard, gently trying to nudge the older Ghost back into the air though the old shell struggled to even make a sound.

Rose slung the rifle over her back and knelt gently lifting the Speaker's Ghost shell from the ground, gently dusting it off and smiling softly as the dim optic focus on her. "Thank you for the help, but you need to rest now."

The Ghost chimed at her and then went limp in her hands.

"Is he still active?" Kuji asked.

"Barely." Rose said sadly, gently hooking the Ghost into her armour. "He can recharge off my armour for now, but we have to get him somewhere safe and let him recharge in his own time, leaving this world to get to mine and then bringing us back would have been a huge drain on him and after that little show of power he's likely on his last fumes."

"We can make it to the Farm before sun down if we go now." Grampa said.

"Then let's get flying." Rose nodded, "Bing get the ship."

"Getting ship." Bing bounced in a nod and sent out a signal to activate the autopilot.

"Val, make with the comms and see if we can get a solid link with anyone now, if we can get our Light back here, others might be able to do the same." Kuji said.

"On it." Val whirled as the ship glided into view overhead. "Whoa, wait, wait hang on!" the Ghosts stated listening for a moment longer then let the message he was hearing play through his shell.

~ "I repeat this! This is Devrim Kay calling for a full retreat from Trostland! Cabal forces are too many! We are losing ground! We're holding in the old church, but we can't last long!" ~

~ "Kay get down!" ~

~ "They're at the doors!" ~

Kuji yelped as the ship jerked sharply to the right and picked up speed, throwing him off balance for a moment.

"It would save us both a lot of time if you would just kill me." He stated plainly.

His captor was not pleased with the news of a defeat, but he refused to speak out and boast, he had to conserve his energy and keep his wits about him, even as he felt his life slowly slipping away he knew he was the focus of Cabal Commander's attention and as long as he held that attention, he bought Guardians and the Vanguard time to plan and heal.

He was on borrowed time however, there was a pain deep in his chest that left him short of breath and weak in the limbs, a stinging burn in his stomach that came and went randomly throughout the hours he was hung like this and with his Ghost gone, he had no way to heal the unseen injuries and give himself more time, though it seemed Ghaul was not planning to torture him for answers.

"For someone who calls himself 'Speaker' you have remarkably little to say." Ghaul said as he looked out his window upon the Traveler and it's still incomplete cage. "We've learned that some of your Guardians has reconnected to the Light."

He watched as a recorded image flared to life on a screen, Cabal troops easily striking down Fallen not fast enough to get away and Guardians as they huddled within an old church, then just as it seemed hopeless, a Reef ship swooped overhead and from it fell three Guardians, a Titan and two Hunters. A Void shield burned through the Cabal armour as it bounced back and forth around the Cabal, killing them in a few short seconds of contact as bullets cut through the head of another Cabal, the image swarmed with dirt and dust as gunshots echoed through the speakers.

One Hunter skidded between the confused Cabal, using a knife and hand cannon to hit the weak knee joints and tossing grenades into the further reaches of the Cabal before a second Hunter snatched an Arc staff from the air and unleashed a few waves of Arc energy into the scrambling Cabal with a battle cry.

The Speaker recognized all of them by armour and voice, Kuji the Human Hunter with no sense of self preservation and a near perfect score, Grampa the Exo Titan with a soul older than his own and Rose the Awoken Hunter of another world and time who never lost hope.

His mask hid the smile as he watched them easily wielded their new Light, bringing the Cabal troops down and sending the Fallen that had tried to hide and wait out the attack scattering into the shadows before the people huddled in the church came out of hiding and cheered with joy and relief before the feed cut off.

"You say you have no power over the Traveler yet, this." The Cabal commander turned to the Speaker. "Help me understand this, Speaker."

"The Light lives in all places and in all things, you can block it and even try and trap it. But the Light will always find its way to those it sees as worthy of its blessings. And the Traveler WILL protect itself." He proclaimed.

"The Traveler." Ghaul stated looking to the object of their conversation with a deep growl to his tone. "For years I have studied it and the worlds it has touched, its power over life and death. It touched the Fallen once and they worshiped it as a God. Then it left them, abandoned them and they became the vermin the are today and then it settled here, in this system of weak creatures and granted you it's Light. It controls you without you even realizing it. We are not so different, your Traveler and I."

"You are nothing like the Traveler. NOTHING." The Speaker hissed, "You think that you have power and control because you command others and build a cage around something we respect, something humanity has come to trust with its lives and choose to protect and serve. You believe that because you have accomplished something none before you have ever come close to that you are great." He shook his head, "I know your kind, you started small and you will end small."

Ghaul marched closer and grabbed the Speaker by his throat. "If the Traveler truly has chosen humanity of its own free will, then there is no reason I should not reach inside, tear out the Light for myself and leave this system in ashes!" he threatened.

"Only those that are chosen by the Traveler will be reborn in the Light." The speaker wheezed as Ghaul squeezed for a moment longer then release his grip and stepped back.

"Yes, this I know. This is why I have claimed your planet and why you still live." The Cabal commander nodded, "The Traveler WILL choose me, Speaker. And you are going to tell me how."

"You expect me to tell you anything?" he asked.

"I have learnt in my studies that to have answers I must be patient." Ghaul remarked, "And in your dying moments, you will tell me want to know."

The ship landed silently though no one would notice that fact as everyone, Guardian and refugees alike were cheering and clapping as Rose, Kuji and Grampa disembarked the ship, helping injured Guardians walk down the ramp while Devrim Kay limped after them, refusing help even though he was in clear pain as he walked on his left foot.

"I am never gonna get use to people clapping and cheering around us." Bing admitted hovering close to Rose out of habit.

"It's better than trying to snatch you away from me." Rose smiled then chuckled as a familiar Ghost floated over and bounced in greeting a moment or two before Lord Shaxx came over. "Hello Atriums, Lord Shaxx."

"Rose? Is it really you?" The Titan Lord asked.

"Last time I checked it was me." She nodded at last reaching up and taking of her helmet, showing her face for the first time since returning to this world. "Little older then before but its me."

"How? All this time we thought you were lost to Darkness with Oryx." The Lord said, catching her arm in greeting as Bing balanced on her head.

"Long story, but it can wait, we have people who need tending and a lot of work to do." Rose smiled.

"So, this is the Fancy pants trio who helped save Devrim get out of the church." Rose looked past Shaxx as a woman came over with a sniper rifle slung over her back and a poncho hugging her shoulders as she walked calmly through the crowd. "Name's Hawthorne. Kuji and Grampa I know, but you're a new face." She said and offered Rose a hand.

"Rose, that's Bing." Rose introduced then smiled and nodded behind the woman, "That Falcon yours?" She asked.

"Louis," Hawthorne smiled, "Kuji and I have a deal that if he can get louis to perch on his arm for longer then ten minutes I'd show him a good place to find thrills outside the city."

"I think he's failing," Bing chuckled as the falcon in question flew away from Kuji and landed on Hawthorne's waiting arm.

Rose smiled and looked between the Titan Lord and Hawthorne. "So, who's in charge here and who wants a big long report from my end about what happened and how we got our Light back?"

"Both of us." Hawthorne said, "I may not be from the City, but its my job to keep these people here safe. Any edge you might give us will be a huge help."

Rose nodded. "Fair enough but first, I need a Ghost recharge station." Shaxx cocked his head in confusion and looked at Bing.

"Not for me." Bing assured.

"Then who?" The Titan asked only to gasp in shock as Rose carefully removed the Speaker's Ghost from her armor. "Oh my… Come I have a spare station he can use, it's nothing fancy but it works."

Hawthorne followed the two into the Barn, watching as Shaxx quickly dug out a small black and gray device from a box he had brought with him and after setting up a solar panel to power to device he nodded. "That should do it."

Rose gently set the Ghost she'd brought with her onto the device, carefully attaching small wires and cables to the shell as the dull optic flickered lightly. "Don't strain yourself, you need to recharge your systems before you try anything else."

The Ghost, rather than speaking, made a soft chiming and whistling sound that Hawthorne didn't understand at all. "Um, what?"

"The Speaker's Ghost doesn't speak with words," Shaxx explained, "Only the Speaker and other Ghosts can understand him."

"Ah." The woman nodded, "So, what's the story?"

Rose chuckled. "Well, that's a loaded question." She said and told Hawthorne the short version of her story and how she had gone back to her own place and time somehow at the end of it all and spent the last year there, only to have a vision brought to her by the Speaker's Ghost about what had happened and been brought back with the Ghosts' help once again.

"I have no idea what I can do to help, but I owe this world a lot." The Hunter stated. "I wasn't going to ignore a call for help."

"And how did you come to keep your Light?" Shaxx asked.

"I didn't, as soon as we got here, the Light was taken from me, everything, Void, Arc and Sol. I only have Arc now and it's a staff not short blades like before." Rose explained. "I have no idea how, or why, but I'm grateful."

"Could it be that the Shard is channeling Light through itself?" Hawthorne asked.

"No, I don't think so." Rose said, "I have a theory, but I'd like to run it by Ikora and Arielle first."

"We don't know where Ikora is." Shaxx sighed, "during the attack she went to find the Speaker, we haven't heard from her since."

"What about Commander Zavala and Cayde-6? Lord Saladin? Eris?" Rose asked.

"Zavala made for Titan, but I have not heard from any of the others." Shaxx explained. "The plan is that Saix and hand full of others will fly to Titan, the rest of us will stay here and help Hawthorne protect the Farm and keep the Cabal away as long as we can."

"Let me go with them." Rose said, "I have Light I can be more use to Zavala then you."

"What about Kuji and Grampa?" Hawthorne asked.

"We'll need them here, they can help keep the Farm safe between them." Shaxx said looking at Rose, "You know going of on your own will not be wise."

"I'm use to being alone, in my world it was part of life for Hunters." Rose reminded, "I can't sit back and do nothing, this world and its people made me a Guardian and now I can try and return the favor." She added.

"It'll take until Sunrise to get that ship of yours fueled fully." Hawthorne said, "Hopefully your friends on Titan can hold out that long."

"Why do you not take the help of other Guardians?" Variks asked.

Anna Lee sighed as she answered. "Because I only trust Saix to help me with delicate wiring and rule one in my book of 'how to make things work' is never let Titans near wires and delicate tools. They make the smallest job difficult, break stuff or just have no idea what to do at all."

"This happens often?" Variks asked, carefully threading several wires together to make the correct connections.

"Have you ever watched Titan sparring matches? Everything in the area that is delicate tends to go bang, crash, smash or some other spectacular destruction." The Warlock stated carefully setting the soldering iron down and inspecting her work.

"I think it's because they're trying to impress girls." Fang said as she floated near Variks, two wires balanced carefully on her shell Vandal had told her to 'hold' so they didn't touch each other. "It's funny to watch, but no so fun to fix the messes they make."

"Variks understands, it is not fun to fix mistakes." The Vandal said taking the two wires from Fang and carefully attaching them into place on a board he was working on. "This is all Variks can do with what he has, should work, given enough power."

"Good to know, Fang hook up and recharge." Anna Lee said as she took the board she'd been working on and gently pushed it into place on a different device. "And don't you dare tell me you aren't in need of a rest, you've been off charge for a whole 73 hours straight, so I know you're on fumes."

"Yes Anna Lee," Fang sagged in her shell but obeyed, a soft clicked signalling her link up to Anna Lee's armour.

"Ghosts do not naturally create own energy?" Variks asked as he began to connect more wires to each device.

"They convert the Light in to energy to power their advanced systems like signature location, tracking, signal locks, stable connections over long distances, revival coding, engram decoding and ammo conversion. But the normal systems that keep them floating and talking are powered by a tiny power core that needs recharging constantly," The Warlock explained, flicking a series of switches and typing carefully at a terminal. "All Ghost Shells have conversion panels so they can convert energy from sun light and moon light to power their cores, but this only lasts so long before they have to risk stopping for a few hours and just letting the energy build up, but when they have Guardians they can link into our armour and recharge from the internal batteries we have specially installed for them in case of emergencies."

"Ghosts die without Guardians." Variks reminded, "Maybe not here, not now, but Ghosts die."

"Yes," Anna Lee sighed softly, "Not all Ghosts have the will to stay on after they lose their Guardian, others can become lost because of Fallen, Vex, Hive and Cabal interference. But very few Ghosts go back to the Traveler because they died from lack of energy before they find their Guardian."

"And them?" Variks asked nodding to the table of Ghosts that had no Guardians anymore. "They have lost both Light and Guardian, will they die?"

"They're resting," Anna Lee stated softly. "Those Ghosts are waiting for the time when they can revive their Guardians."

"Without the Light?" The Vandal asked.

"As a wise old woman once said to me, the Light is like water, if you tried to block it, it will work its way around, starting with a tiny trickle then more and more until the block is bypassed or worn way." The Warlock recited, "We're weakened without the Light but if we can hold out and hope, we'll get it back."

"You sound like you haven't lost hope at all." Petra said as she came over, "How's it coming?"

"So far, we have everything we need, and it is working." Anna Lee said, "We just need to link it into a receiver and pump up the strength of the signal with a radio wave frequency that the Cabal can't hack."

"And that's hard to find?"

"Six of Reef's channels are hacked." Variks stated. "Only outer mark beacon frequencies are untouched."

"Outer mark beacons?" Anna Lee asked, "Maybe if we- Petra go get the Prince, quick!" she said and typing carefully again. "Variks you can send messages to every ship in the Reef, right?"

"I can."

"Good tell everyone to open their beacon radio channel and listen out of any change in the sound it makes."

Petra returned with the Prince swiftly at her heels, looking about ready to snap at the Warlock until his comm device binged with a new signal. "What the-?"

"Give me the access frequency for the outer markers." Anna Lee said.

"Why?" the Prince demanded. "What use are they to you?"

"The outer markers are a sending out radio channel that plays out a constant 'beep-beep-beep' so we know we are passing it when we enter or leave the Reef's air space, right?" Anna Lee said.

"Yes and?" Petra asked.

"Who says that the signal has to just beep?" Anna Lee smiled. "It's a set channel, Guardian ships were only recently given the frequency to answer that beep signal as friendlies and since the frequency runs on low wave radio, the Cabal can't hack the lines without using the Reef's own technology to do it."

"And the Reef tech has a race signature scanner since we lost half our supplies and technology to the Wolves," Petra smiled, "If you aren't Awoken you can't touch the Reef tech without it blowing up in your face,"

"Fight high level encryption with low level technicity." Variks surmised. "Brilliant."

"But how will that help your communications?" the Prince asked.

"The channel is locked into all Guardians ships." Anna Lee said, "If I'm right, all I have to do is patch in a comm to this signal and instead of beeping, the outer markers will start to talk."

"And that gets us through to Arielle how?" The Prince asked with a growl.

"That's getting to far ahead." Anna Lee said, "But if this idea works here, all we have to do is attach a Ghost to this network and we'll have a chance to get a signal to Arielle and beyond." She explained and once the Prince had reluctantly given her the access, she connected her comm to the channel and opened the link.

"This is Anna Lee of the Iron Wolves, if any Guardian in the Reef can hear me please respond on this channel."

There was a pause of almost sixty seconds, before a soft click echoed like a pin drop and the channel filled with a response.

~ "This is Hal-9 and Goldy. We hear you Anna Lee." ~ someone cheered.

~ "Fay and Tali here. How the hell do you have a clear signal?" ~ Another demanded but there was sheer relief in their tone.

~ "Denis and Spark here, we all hear you Anna Lee." ~

Anna Lee smiled, "We have a secure short wave link. Use this channel to communicate with each other and the Reef from here on out." She ordered and cut the line with a relieved sighed. "Thank the Light that worked."

"And now?"

Anna Lee smiled calling Fang out of her armour and setting her on the table gently, "Now we add in a little Ghost and we'll be home free."

Zavala felt older than he had ever felt in his long life as he sat slumped and defeated in the back of Amanda Holiday's ship, his head in his hands as he

All his Guardian life, he had fight to protect the Last City, to lead the Guardians in the best way he could and plan carefully for any horror and attack that could come at them, adapting and altering to fit the enemy and numbers until it had become impossible to bypass the Walls and get into the City.

Or so he had thought.

The Red Legion had come like a swarming plague and destroyed everything in a matter of minutes what had taken Zavala and many others centuries to build and create, the Tower had been brought down around him, the Walls broken and shattered with ease and the Traveler, the center of their City and the beacon of Hope and Light itself, caged and restrained.

And then, like someone had flipped a switch, Zavala had felt the light ripped from his body, catching his Ghost as he welt offline mid word and with no other choice, he had been forced to flee the only Home he had come to know and love.

It was beyond heart breaking, it was soul destroying and left him with so many questions that echoed around his mind without mercy, ripping at what little was left of his pride. How had it been done? How had the Red Legion gotten so close and so far without someone noticing it happening? How had they been so unprepared?

How had it come to this?

~ "Vanguard Fleet." ~ A voice stated over the comms. ~ "We received your beacon. We're here to join the fight." ~

"Guardian this is Zavala." He said gravely, "Its too late, the Hive have overrun the station. I was wrong to bring us here."

~ "I have a cure for Hive infestations." ~ the Guardian said.

"No, we have lost too many Lightless Guardians to the Hive. We can not secure this Moon." He said, "I am ordering a full retreat."

~ "We have our Light back." ~ the Guardian told him.

"What? Impossible…" Zavala said then blinked as before his eyes, a burning glow of light flickered into view.

~ "Commander, I would have thought that my time here taught you nothing was impossible." ~ The Guardian said as a Ceres Galliot flew past Amanda's ship.

"Is that-?" Amanda asked then smiled. "It is! It's Rose and Bing!" She cheered, "Rose, head for Siren's Watch! Arielle and the others are there right now."

~ "On our way." ~ Rose assured as her ship flew towards the floating remains of the station.

Zavala watched as the ship dived and then flew back up to float on autopilot as the light that was Rose dropped into the fight with the Hive and Fallen, lashing out at the Thrall, Dregs, Acolytes, Vandals, Knights and Captains easily with an Arc Staff, bringing them down easily as the Guardians around her used the shock of her arrival to take out the now scrambling forces.

"It would seem Commander." His deputy said with a small smile. "That all Hope is not lost after all."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three;

Shaking It Up.

"Cabal signals." Variks said and the Queen's focus snapped to the old Vandal as he bowed before her. "Variks has heard them talk, they plot to attack the Reef with everything, one swift and mighty strike to end us all. My Queen and Kell." He went on, "They call you by name, and claim you weak, unsteady still from your time within the Dreadnought."

A touchy subject that Variks would never speak of lightly, but his Queen was not one to take a report that was not detailed to the fullest. The old Vandal remained silent as his Queen thought about her current situation, he personally could foresee three outcomes to this matter and none of those outcomes ended well for the Cabal, but Variks was no fool and would never speak out of place.

He would wait for her to speak to him and he would respond with respect take nothing from her that was not freely offered, that was how he had survived this long, keeping his thoughts to himself unless someone asked for them, biting back the snide remarks that were sent his way as a means to try and bait him, keeping himself in check until the Queen and Kell had seen his worth and kept him at her side as an advisor and Warden to the Prison.

The Queen was, as many of her people and Guardians knew, a patient woman. She had to be, she ruled the lives of many others and she alone carried the weight of every choice made, no matter the outcomes it was her word that ultimately spelt success or failure to her people as a whole.

Currently, she was doing what was best for both her people and the Lightless Guardians stranded in her home, readying her forces, preparing the fleet, setting up patrols and keeping her entire race on high alert. Her brother's finest crows were out in the field, gathering intelligence with each passing moment, Petra's hunting parties were helping Guardians bring in salvage and scrap to help make shells and ammo for the soldiers while Variks worked on helping establish lines of communications with the Warlock Anna Lee.

It was a slow progress, as not only was each comm frequency needing to be dialled in like some ancient earth internet connection, the signals were being interrupted by something beyond the Reef, making the connections somewhat unsteady after a few minutes and so Anna Lee was swiftly relaying messages and reports while trying to give the Queen a stable connection to Arielle. And now, the Cabal were plotting an all-out attack, an attack to kill her forces, her people and all she loved in one strike. She needed her forces ready and that meant every guardian would be needed to help, but this would also mean that Anna Lee and Variks might miss a chance to find Arielle and grant the Queen her request to speak with her Sword in a timely fashion.

However, the Queen forced herself to remember that her Sword was but one Guardian, a Guardian who had survived without her for a time before coming to the Reef and then against after leaving the Reef, while right now, in this moment alone, there were thousands of lives Guardian and Awoken who needed her to make a decision about how to counter this attack from the Cabal.

The needs of the many in this case, out weighted the needs of the few.

"Cut this room off from all outside systems, bring me the Prince, Petra, the Warlock Anna Lee and then begin system defences protocols on line, I will not see the Reef infested with Cabal filth."

"Of cause My Queen and Kell." The old Vandal bowed again and swiftly left to find the Prince and Petra while sending a message to all others about the system protocols. The Queen settled herself in the middle of her throne, her back straight and shoulders back, her face perfectly set in a mask to keep her emotions hidden.

The Cabal would find no ease in their attack, and if they dared to be so foolish as to assume she would allow them any foothold, they would meet the cut of her blade as the two Houses of Wolves had before them.

Her brother arrived first, his face set in a similar mask but his eyes betrayed his anger where Petra have chosen to hide her face behind her Queen's Guard battle mask, dressed in her finest armour and together they took their places at her side, Uldren to her left one step down from her throne, Petra her right at the base of the steps.

Anna Lee arrived with her little Ghost and with a short nod from Mara Sov, Variks relayed the report to all of them and together they planned for this upcoming attack.

"This is NOT how I wanted to spend our Anniversary!" Orion snarled as his fist smashed into the face of a Thrall that had tried to grab Arielle's coat from behind. "I had it all planned out! A nice meal! A romantic setting! I even had my Sunday bests steamed and pressed!"

"Aw, you got all that set up for me?" Vlad chuckled kicking a Dreg off the ledge then ducked as Arielle threw a Knight over his head. "I never knew you cared so much."

"Fuck you Vlad!" Arielle yelled then gasped as she was knocked back by a powerful force hitting her stomach, a lucky strike from a Fallen Captain.

"Ari!?" Orion yelled punching a Hive Knight's face with enough force to crack the hide. "Arielle move!" he cried seeing the danger she was in.

"Fuck." Arielle hissed seeing the Fallen had her locked in their sights.

~ "DOWN!" ~

Arielle reacted without thinking, pressing herself into the metal of the floor as a ship swooped over her, the heat of the engine washing over her for a second before the familiar hiss-fizz sound of Transmat protocol reached her ears and she looked up to see a Hunter drop from the ship, the Queen's Mark proudly shinning on her cloak as she pointed and fired her Hand Cannon into the heads of the stunned Fallen and Hive that had been dumb struck by her arrival.

And then, just to confirm the spark of hope that the Hunter was a friend, a familiar Ghost spoke up.

~ "Does this mean we're even now that we've saved them like they saved us from the Vault of Glass Vex?" ~

"I don't think it counts here since they don't have their Light."

~ "Okay." ~

"Rose?!" Orion asked in shock.

"Hi guys." Rose nodded twisting and emptying the last round of her Hand Cannon into the Fallen Captain's head. "Need a hand?"

"Ammo would be nice!" Vlad nodded as he kicked a Thrall off him. "Lots of Ammo."

"Ammo for everyone!" Bing cheered as two large ammo crates fizzled into life from the ship.

"How are you two-? When did you-?"

"I'll explain when the fighting's done." Rose promised offering Arielle her hand. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Arielle smiled and took the offered hand up and with a renewed passion the four fell into a familiar pattern of attacks, Rose ducking down to keep out of the line of fire as Orion released rocket after rocket into the gathered swarms of Hive and Fallen while Vlad and Arielle took well aimed shots at heads and chests, taking down larger targets at the backs of the swarms.

Then with a surge of Arc light Rose moved in, the hair on everyone arms going up with the familiar energy that suddenly surged around them, the sudden shift in the tides of the battle drawing Guardians down from the sky in their ships to join the fight until at last the Fallen and Hive were driven back.

"Where in the universe have you been?!" Arielle asked Rose as the hunter was swarmed by the Ghosts. "We were worried we'd lost you forever."

"You almost did." Rose said smiling as she lightly poked each Ghost to give them a little spin. "But I'm back now and this time I'm staying." She assured.

~ "Commander Zavala and I are approaching the landing platform." ~ Sloane stated over the comms, ~ "Get up here and take a bow." ~

"Are we racing up the stairs?" Wrex asked as they finished hacking their way past the commander centre door.

"OnetwothreeGO!" Bing yelled and zoomed off, Vakarian and Sovereign hot on his shell.

"Hey!" Wrex yelled and chased after them.

Zavala was waiting for them, a weak smile on his face as he watched them come up the stairs together. "I didn't dare believe it possible." He said, "If the Light can find its way back to you then perhaps there is hope for us all."

"You still sound doubtful." Orion said.

"Our numbers will continue to dwindle while we are without Light, we can no longer protect ourselves much less the survivors." Zavala said, "And without the Light, are we even Guardians anymore?"

"You talk like you've given up." Rose said. "You've still got a life and a head full of knowledge that being a Guardian gave you, you have able bodies who can make shells and bullets from the scrap and metal we find, and you have Guardians willing to hold the lines as long as they can, if my world can make it work so can you."

"How?" Zavala asked, "Your world was destroyed because the darkness swept over it."

"And yet Guardians still stood up and fought to protect the dying and losing worlds." Rose said, "All the wicked needs to thrive in a world is for good men and women to do nothing."

Zavala was silent for a time and Arielle smiled behind her helmet. It had only been a year and yet Rose had clearly found the confidence and boldness to stand up for herself in that time, drawing on what she had learnt from both worlds and now putting it all to good use once again.

"She's right Commander." A new voice stated and all eyes turned to a human woman in heavy titan armour stood near by with Amanda Holiday. "We need to get power back to the station."

"Where do you need us to go?" Vlad asked.

"Wave energy Converters power the station, but thanks to the Hive they need attention. Head across to the rig and I'll guild you from there while Amanda runs tech support. Go in, flip the switch and get out."

"Easy enough." Rose smiled. "Let me guess, Hive infested, Fallen scavenging and a very-"

"SEA MONSTER!" Bing yelled, and everyone turned to the methane ocean and watched as something large, surfaced for a moment and then slowly sank down into the depths again.

"I am never going on a boat here. EVER." Rose shuddered.

"Seconded." Arielle nodded. "Now, how about we go and see to getting the power back on and then see about getting a com channel open with the Reef?"

"I'm down for that." Orion nodded.

"Me too." Vlad assured. "We'll let you know when the power's back on."

Shaxx watched as Kuji flopped down onto his bed roll, tired, aching and sore by the sound of instant growl when his Ghost reminded him it wasn't wise to sleep in smelly clothes. Over the last few days, Kuji and Grandpa had done well with helping to keep the Farm and people safe as more and more Guardians and civilians found their way to the safe heaven, bringing hope and renewed investment into the Guardians as they took time to plan and plot against the Cabal, setting ambushes, raids and traps to keep the Cabal away and strike back at the invading forces and with every new day, came new news and hopes from all around. Lord Saladin was alive, holding fort at the Temple of the Iron Lords with the New Iron Lords, Ladies and young wolves. Saix had asked about Anna Lee, but it seemed as of yet, no one knew where she was, and it left the Exo Lord torn between hoping she was with Zavala or somewhere safe.

Hawthorn was good at her job, keeping people safe and with her and Devrim Kay's help, they were able to set up Patrols, to gather intelligence and fight high ranked targets both Cabal and Fallen throughout the EDZ and scouting the area around the Last City, looking for ways in and out that could be used to try and retake the City. There had been many trips to the Shard of the Traveler, but so far, no other Guardians had been able to rekindle their Light the way Rose, Kuji and Grandpa had, but they had come back stronger and ready to fight the Cabal and Fallen once again.

Kuji grunted as he was poked with the pointed end of a stick. "If this isn't a lifesaving mission, I do not want to know." he said into his pillow, almost daring the poker to keep bugging him so he could cut the stick with his knife and then go to sleep.

"So, you don't want any of the nice hot stew Devrim made for everyone?" Grandpa asked only for the bowl of said stew to be snatched from him and devoured in a matter of seconds. "That's a yes then." He chuckled.

"Man, I haven't had anything decent to eat since this mess started. Let me enjoy the best meal currently on offer." Kuji stated, all but licking the bowl clean. "Is there more?" he added looking for Kay in the crowd of people.

Grandpa laughed. "You Humans always need more food."

"Like you Exo's always need that special oil blend Cayde makes?" Kuji remarked then ducked the playful swat. "careful Bro, I bruise easily." He teased.

"Oh hush." The Exo Titan chuckled. "So, what's the plan?"

"Still working on it apparently. The next big raid is on that Firebase Hades place." Kuji stated yawning was he rubbed his face. "I'ma sleep now, wake me when we leave."

"Gotcha."

"Well that was disgusting," Orion huffed, "How do they even make this stuff?" he asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Arielle asked as they finished clearing the last of the Hive mess from the piston.

"Eat enough raw and rotten flesh and then poop everywhere." Bing said as Rose and Arielle looked around the outside area. "That or they regurgitate this stuff, I haven't seen any kinda proof for either theory."

"So, we just have to clear the pistons and then we can-" Whatever Rose was going to say was cut off by an almost familiar, painful scream that echoed around them.

"Omnigul? AGAIN!?" Orion snarled.

"No." Vakarian stated calmly though he didn't come out of his place in Ari's armour, "That scream was close, but it's not the same pitch or frequency wave as Omnigul."

"Sure, as hell left my audio ringing like that bitch did." Vlad said rubbing the helmet where his ears would have been. "Ow, ow, ow."

"So, we going to go kill this Omnigul wanna be?" Wrex asked.

"I think we might have too." Rose said, "signals are still really bad even with the pistons clear and the channels open."

"Well, let's get going. Ah." Vlad said and the others came up behind him and looked over his shoulders to see the broken mess that was once a bridge in ruins and lose unstable parts before them. "Anyone got a plan?"

"Jump, jump and jump again." Rose said, having taken a few steps back and began running going right to the end and then running off the edge, along the broken wire and cables that held the bridge remains up before jumping off and landing on the first platform in a heavy heap as the platform gave a shaky wobble and a little shake of the whole bridge before it all stilled and settled again. "Come on!"

"Me thinks." Orion said, "That our little Hunter is braver than when we lost her, Ari."

"Yea. I think so too." The Warlock nodded, following Rose's example and taking a running start to make the jump, landing with more grace, but still the bridge gave a slight wobble at the action.

Slowly the group of four made their way on wards, killing Hive as they went and easily bringing down the screaming Wizard that had been making their ears hurt before Amanda came by in her ship and they hitched a ride back to the make shift command post as more Guardians, now rested and able to recharge their weapons, Ghosts and armour with ease thanks to the work they had done went out to try and clear up the Hive and Fallen.

"The Speaker's Ghost came to you?" Zavala asked.

"I don't know how or why, but yes and he showed me what happened, I packed what I could grab and he brought us back here," Rose retold, "I met Kuji and Grampa, they helped me reach the Shard on Earth and we got our light back, but the Speaker's Ghost was still weak, so we left him with Shaxx to recharge on a solar port while I came looking for you."

"And now you are here we had a fighting chance." Vlad smiled. "We just need to get the comms back up."

"I'll do that." Rose said, "You three need to rest and get your injuries seen too and don't lie and tell me you're all ok, I saw you limping Orion, Vlad your right arm is sparking and your left optic is dull."

"We'll heal up and come with you." Arielle said.

"Your Ghost can't revive you if you die." Rose said, "This isn't up for debate or discussion Arielle, you all need to rest and heal. I can do this one alone."

"But Rose-"

"I will win this argument." Rose stated firmly, cutting Orion off. "Please, just listen to the rookie and let me do this for you."

"Pretty please with lots of candy and sweets and ice cream on top?" Bing added with what could only be called the most adorable string of bings, bleeps and whistles he could find in his data banks.

"You have one hour, then we are coming after you." Vlad stated after a moment.

"Deal." And with that, Rose moved off to talk to Salona about getting the comms back up and running before she headed out.

"One hour." Vlad said, hearing the responding click from Sovereign as he set a timer.

The first few attacks had been minor assaults, set out in what the Cabal had thought would be weak point of the defences, trying to distract the Queen's attention and make her think that the main assault would be in those areas. A clever attempt that had failed, not just because a weak point did not exist, but also because of several Warlocks had been able to get their ships back into the air and drive off the attacking forces.

But now, the Cabal were gathering in huge numbers and forces just beyond her sight.

Queen Mara Sov knew, even without looking at them, that the Guardians who had taken shelter in her Home were sore, aching and tired from the long hard fights, but Lightless as they were, it seemed they were determined not to see the Reef suffer the same fall as the Last City, they had seen Anna Lee's attempts to contact the Vanguard and other Guardians, and how the Reef itself needed more hands to help prepare for the coming attack and without question, they had moved to help the Awoken soldiers load up their ships with ammo, even requesting her permission to repair their ships with her people's equipment and help fight the Cabal ships.

She had allowed it, and watched as the Guardians quickly organized themselves, working in shifts and small groups to make the most of their time and efforts, those who needed sleep and time to heal slept and healed while others worked and planned around them, fixing weapons and making use of the left-over Wolves weaponry Variks had brought out for them. Warlocks busying themselves with the wires and components of the Servitor shells that lay scattered around the Reef, while Titans fixed and repaired armours, Hunters sharpened their knives and with Petra's help, they crated traps and weapons that the Queen had never thought such noble beings of the Light would ever use.

The physically strong helped to man the massive defence cannons and turrets into place all around the Reef borders, the quick movers, like the Hunters and Warlocks were armed with not only their guns, but also their swords and knives, ready to do what few others could stomach the thought of.

Now that the Cabal were done trying to find weaknesses that simply did not exists in the Reef defences, they were massing and soon, as the Queen predicted they would, the Cabal would try and storm the Reef with an all-out assault.

Their mistake was thinking that such a brazen attack would draw all the Reef had to offer at that attacking force. It was almost frightening, but the Queen reminded herself of something one Guardians had said to another while she had been in ear short.

"Never underestimate the lengths someone will go to when it comes to survival. Your best friends could easily become your biggest foe if you get in the way of them and what must be done to survive."

"Who can live like that?"

"Everyone can live like that, if pushed to it."

The Guardians had seen their City fall and they were not willing to see it happen again.

"My Queen?" Uldren asked from his place at her side.

"Has there been any word from the Guardians beyond the Reef?" She questioned softly. "Any sign of the Vanguard or of Eris?"

"Nothing yet." Her brother reported checking his reports. "We are still monitoring everything." He added.

She nodded in silence and watched the screens carefully and waiting, praying that her people would survive another assault and that somehow, Arielle would also survive this mess.

The hour was almost up and while Vlad felt the itch to go after Rose alone, he could hear her over the comm talking to Zavala and Sloane as they guided her to the CPU core they needed.

~ "Ummm… How thick are the windows of this place?" ~ Rose asked, sounding very scared suddenly.

"Seventeen inches, why?" Zavala asked.

~ "That sea monster thing. It's a Giant Hive Worm." ~ Rose explained and sent them a short image clip of what she was seeing. A slow, massive moving worm like shape swimming lazily past the windows of the CPU Chamber.

"Oryx?" Arielle asked.

~ "I fucking hope not." ~ Rose said. ~ "Ok... so just take this CPU and we'll be on our way." ~

"That's the idea." Sloane nodded.

~ "Ok. This is mine." ~ Rose said and then the comm channel filled with a loud blaring alarm.

~ "Well there is no way the Hive DIDN'T hear that alarm!" ~ Bing yelled to be heard over the echoing shots and the hive screaming. ~ "Run!" ~

~ "Running away!" ~ Rose assured, ~ "Little help with getting out please!" ~

"Amanda." Zavala began to say.

"I'm on my way Rose, just make your way outside the Hive nest and into the open so I can find you!"

~ "Got it!" ~

~ "New toy!" ~ Bing suddenly cheered. ~ "We found an armoured vehicle! Yellow and big!" ~

Vlad caught sight of Amanda's ship taking off and forced himself not to stand up and pace as he waited for further news, he heard the Hive next over eth comms, he could feel dread creeping into his stomach plates as he listened to Rose complain about narrow fucking walkways and yucky Hive habits then the cheer from Bing as they made it outside and Amanda's ship came into view.

After what felt like too long, Amanda's ship came back around and from the back, Rose came, carrying the giant glowing node. "This thing had better be useful."

"Amen to that." Orion nodded as Vlad felt the relief flood his body.

There was something Variks had found, but until he was sure of what it was himself, it seemed the old Vandal was not going to come to her with his findings and if the Queen was honest, she trusted Variks' judgement on what was and was not of interest to her and when he deemed it worthy of her attention, he would search for every scrap if information he could find and more before he presented his findings to her.

After a long, drawn out fight, the Cabal had been annihilated by the combine efforts of the Awoken and Guardians, brought down by sniper fire, rockets and traps that were truly a wonder of the imagination and then, mercifully, Anna Lee's comm work had come through, the little Ghost at her side cheering in what could only be described as elation, when he picked up comm chatter from Titan, hearing not just Zavala, but also Amanda, Vlad, Orion and Arielle however faintly while he tried to lock into the signal.

And then, by some miracle, they heard the familiar voice of another Hunter.

"Is that Rose?" Fang asked.

"Rose is back?" Petra asked. "But the battle with Oryx…?"

"We can ask when I get a stable link to them." Anna Lee assured already typing rapidly into the terminal to get a lock onto the frequency. "Come on, come on."

~{ "Commander, we have a problem…" }~ a woman's voice stated.

"Come on, lock signal… Come on…" Anna Lee pleaded trying to find a secure lock only to be denied at every attempt. "Damn it."

"They're too far away…" Fang realized. "We can hear them, but they can't hear us."

"Is there a way to hear more?" the Queen asked.

"Filtering static and white noise out of the channel… this is the best I can do." Fang said as she spread her shell open wide and brought the conversation over the comms to everyone's attention.

~{ "We uncovered some troubling information in the encrypted files we got form the Cabal… look at this." The woman's voice stated and there was a long pause, likely as everyone was looking over what had been shown.

"What the fuck is this thing?" Orion asked. "Looks like some kind of ship…?"

"It's a weapon." Arielle said. "A very powerful one…"

"They call it the Almighty." The woman explained. "The crown jewel and life time's work of the Red Legion's leader, Dominus Ghaul."

"It's a sun killer." Rose said, "I've seen them in books Ikora showed me, they catch a planet in a gravity pull, ripping it apart to feed its own power cells and then projects a beam at the sun, destabilizing the core and sending it into a supernova…"

"Where is this thing?" Arielle asked.

"Right now, its pointed at our Sun, using Mercury as its energy source."

"But why? Why use it here?" Vlad asked, "He wants the Traveler and we all know that the big ball isn't gonna move from Earth while it's in that fucking cage, if he blows up the sun-"

"He's Cabal." Rose reminded, "Win or lose, they leave nothing behind."

"In short sir," the woman stated again, "The war is over and we've lost."

"No, we haven't." Rose said firmly and defiantly, "We're still living and we have Light. We can still fight."

"You can still fight." The woman stated grimly. "You are the only one here with Light Rose and from what you're reports say and the details we got from earth, only Kuji and Grandpa have their light. No one else has found a way to access it."

"Commander?" Orion asked as Zavala had been quiet the whole time the talking had been happening.

"This enemy has taken our home, our Light and now they threaten our very existence…" the Commander said. "We're going all in on this, 'Almighty'. Gather the fleet and prepare them."

"Zavala Wait-"

There was a loud bang, like someone had punched something, cutting Sloane off. "If we wait we die! But if we attack together we can take back our home, our Light and our hope, or we die trying."

"Even with you at the helm, you can't take on Ghaul without help," Arielle reasoned.

"Then I will need Ikora and Cayde." Zavala said.

"I'll find them." Rose said. "I have Light and I can get by the Cabal in my ship."

"You can't go alone." Arielle said.}~

The signal began to fill with static and white noise and then was completely cut off. "What happened?!" Uldren demanded.

Fang gave a whine then fell out of the air as her shell closed off and her optic fluttered, landing in Anna Lee's palm with a heavy hum of internal fans echoing around them. "Signal too far away… got a lock... but… only faint… Sorry…"

"Easy old friend." Anna Lee soothed, "I got ya."

"Should be stable enough… to let you talk... with Arielle now… just need a receiver…" Fang went on, and the Queen realized the Ghost had been talking to her.

"Shush up and rest." Anna Lee nodded already hooking Fang into her armour. "No more talking until your above 99% charged."

"Ok… sleep time…" Fang chimed before going silent.

"Rose and two other Guardians still have their Light." Petra said, recalling what had been said. "Could it be that some others might be able to rekindle it if they returned to earth?"

"Questions to be answered at a later time." The Queen said, keeping her tone level and her voice even as she spoke. "Petra, make sure that the defence grid is prepared to repel any further attacks from the Cabal. Variks I want to know everything you can tell me about this Almighty."

"Of course, my Queen my Kell."

With a nod, the Queen returned to the silence of the throne room to think carefully over all she had learnt.

By some miracle, Rose had returned and held onto her light and two others had found a way to rekindle theirs while on Earth. Now the Cabal had a weapon pointed at the Sun, a weapon that could destroy everything if it was not stopped and it had to be stopped. The threat was not just against the Guardians and Earth anymore, no, now the threat was to all of them and if the sun did go into a supernova, there would be no escaping it, nowhere to run and hide to avoid the blast and even if there were, the resulting black hole would suck everything that had been lucky to survive towards itself.

The Reef, her home and her people would be destroyed alongside the rest of the solar system.

In the end, Rose and Orion were the only ones to leave Titan heading further away from Earth in search of Cayde and Ikora while Arielle and Vlad returned with Zavala and the half of the fleet to earth, bringing much needed ammo, medical provisions and food with them to help the Farm, the sudden influx of Guardians however did not go unnoticed. The Cabal and Fallen tried to attack the EDZ again, only to meet much heavier resistance as the ships from the Fleet went over the open areas and opened fire, switching form the once cautious attacks to full on battle tactics to keep their home and people safe. Thanks to the increased numbers, Guardians were able to stop several attempts by Cabal and Fallen to gather resources from Earth's surface and also bring down several heavy shipments of supplies and weapons to the Cabal.

Zavala was quick to set up patrols in the EDZ with the help of Devrim Kay and Hawthorne while Kuji offered to take Vlad and Arielle to the place he, Grandpa and Rose had gone to get their light back.

"I can get you as far as the tunnel in the EDZ, but beyond that, you guys would be totally on your own beyond that." The Human Hunter explained as he flew them over the EDZ. "Cabal have the entrance guarded and then inside you'd be fighting mostly Fallen."

"We'll be fine." Arielle assured as she packed as much spare ammo into her pack as she could. "We're gonna need our light if we are going to stop Gaul." She added as Vlad adjusted his pack and checked his guns were loaded.

"Ok," Kuji nodded as they approached the area of the tunnel. "Ready?" he asked.

"As we'll ever be," Vlad nodded.

"Then good luck." Kuji nodded and opened the transmat to drop them into the Sludge. "Call me when you need pick up!" he yelled after them while swinging the ship around and unloading into the chasing Threshers as he went. "YEE-HAW!"

"He's having fun." Vlad smiled, Arielle nodded but said nothing as they made their way into the tunnel, "So, Cabal, Fallen, no Light and a shit tone of bullets… Feeling like a new Guardian again yet?" he asked.

"Ask me again when we have Light and can burning these fuckers with a storm." Arielle said.

Vlad nodded, getting the message that Arielle wasn't in a joking mood, then again, he couldn't blame her, Orion was adamant he could do this without his light and had all but begged Arielle to get hers back first while he went to help find Cayde and Ikora.

Rose had promised to keep the Titan out of trouble, but the look in Arielle's eyes, the unspoken words and worries had been almost over bearing.

"Orion, for the love of all our Light, don't die." Vlad prayed silently as he looked ahead at the slightest movement.

"Fun time." Arielle said taking aim down her sights.

"Tell me again, Speaker." The Cabal commander stated for what must have been the hundredth time that day, or was it night? "What makes your Guardians worthy of the Light? What is the price for such powers and immortality?"

He struggled to keep his focus for a moment, the light was slowly starting to seep out of him, and his Ghost's distance from him did not help his already aching body, but he knew the longer he could buy the survivors time, the better chance they had to find a way to end this.

So he answered.

"Devotion. Self-sacrifice. Death."

"Death?" Gaul repeated, "Explain."

"Devotion inspires bravery, bravery inspires sacrifice, sacrifice leads to death." The Speaker explained slowly from his weakened state, though the venom in his voice as he continued was clear and powerful. "So, feel free to kill yourself."

"Devotion." Gaul repeated after a moment and rose form his throne. "Sacrifice. I know both well," he stated, "I was born an outcast, a runt. As is custom with the Cabal I was cast aside and left for dead, but I was taken in by an old scholar, himself disgraced who saw in me something redeemable."

The Speaker watched Gaul pace as he told his life story, it wasn't much, but it helped him keep his focused and alert rather than getting lost in the pain and aches he felt.

"He raised, taught and trained me and in return, I would become a vehicle for his revenge against an empire that has failed itself. Rejection, ridicule and torment made me strong, I gave up everything to win not just acceptance, but glory." Gaul said turning to the man before him. "Beneath my mask, Speaker, is the face of devotion and sacrifice, but I will not take the Light by force, to do so would be to admit failure and I never fail." He declared. "Now, do you see why I would be chosen?"

"I see now." The Speaker said. "I see all you have done…"

"We've got a signal from Watson." Bing called out as they flew through space, thankfully they hadn't run into any Cabal fleet patrols before hitting jump space, so they weren't worried about being chased from Titan. "It's coming from Nessus."

"That big centaur out near Jupiter?" Orion asked. "But there's nothing there. Why would Cayde be there?"

"Maybe we can ask him when we find him?" Wrex offered as they came up on the centaur. "Wow. Ok… um…" The centaur was covered in red trees and wild life, flowing white waters and familiar Vex structures. "So much for nothing being here."

"Let's get to high ground." Rose said as they swooped low and transmatted in on to a high up ledge. "We'll pin down Cayde's location better from high up." she added as Orion and Wrex landed with them.

"I got him." Bing said, opening the channel.

~ "In over my head! *pop-pop-snap* Vex trap *hiss-whine-pop* Failsafe?!" ~

"Vex trap?" Orion repeated. "What has Cayde gotten into this time?" he asked checking his weapon was fully loaded and ready to fire.

"Let's go find out." Rose said, "Something around here is blasting that signal into space. We find it we find Cayde."

"So how do we get-"

"Going down." Orion watched Rose step off the edge of the ledge and then floated down inside a tunnel of white Vex light to the bottom of the pillar they were stood on. "Coming?" She called back up.

Orion blinked then smiled and shrugged, "Well, it's a way down." He said and also stepped into the white tunnel of Vex light.

"Over there!" Wrex said suddenly. "The signals coming from that wracked ship." He said as they made their way to the wreckage of what had once been Cayde's ship, "Oh man, and he says we're bad drivers."

"Amanda's gonna kill him." Orion said.

"Scanning signal frequency." Bing said, already covering a small sparking panel with his scanner.

~ "Hello!" ~ A cheerful female voice greeted suddenly, making Bing shoot back from the ship with a startled gasp. ~ "Are you here to rescue the Cayde-6?" ~

"That's not Cayde." Bing said.

~ "The Cayde-6 is currently caught in a teleportation loop." ~ The female voice explained cheerfully. ~ "He's over there. Oop! Now he's over there. Oop!" ~

"Well, that's complicated." Orion stated.

~ "I can help you!" ~ the female assured then after a sudden burst of static the attitude went from cheerful to sarcastic. ~ "But I am going to be super unpleasant about it." ~

"Huh?" Orion asked.

~ "I have uploaded his new coordinates to you!" ~ the cheerful voice stated only to be cut off by another burst of static. ~ "Against my better judgement." ~ the sarcastic tone ended.

"Um…" Rose said with a look at her team mate, who shrugged helplessly. "Ok…?"

"We better get going." Orion said looking over the coordinates they'd been given, "It's a long walk without our sparrows."

The two of them made their way on foot towards the location of their missing Vanguard member, keeping conversation to a minimal so as to not attract attention even after the Female voice introduced themselves as the Exodus Black's failsafe, a ship that had crashed on Nessus centuries ago and lost all of its crew members either during or after the crash, she requested that they call her Failsafe and explained that she had been boosting Cayde's signal in hopes he would be rescued.

When asked how Nessus had become something other than a giant icy rock in space, Failsafe explained that the Vex had achieved 92.014% conversion of the Centaur and were still at work in and around the centaur, along with them, were Cabal and Fallen, each fraction fight each other for some reason the A.I did not understand.

"No one understands any of them," Rose assured as they made their way down into a deep pit following the coordinates from Failsafe.

"Is someone there!?" a familiar voice called out.

"Cayde!" Bing answered and floated forwards as they came upon a Vex teleportation grid, the Hunter Vanguard suspended in the centre, flailing his arms about trying to find some stability. "Are you-?"

"Listen, don't ask me how this happen- I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand-" Cayde tried to say only to be cut off as he was teleported away.

"Cayde?"

~ "Warning, the Vex will vaporize you!" ~ Failsafe said as Vex Goblins began to teleport into life around them.

Bing and Wrex vanished into the Guardians' armours as bullets began to fly, Rose ducking down to let Orion take down a Goblin behind the ones she had just taken down while she continued to fire into the stomachs and eyes of the now massing Vex around them.

"Just like when we found you Rose!" Orion smiled.

"Please don't remind me!" Rose pleaded as more Vex began to swarm them.

Arielle paused for just a moment, listening carefully. Vlad's heavy breathing, the hum of the constant power that seemed to flow around this place, the hiss of Fallen weapons that wouldn't be fired again.

They'd been shooting and killing Fallen for almost an hour now, trying to get through them lines to get to the shard, and now they were here, it seemed that for the moment the Fallen had retreated.

"I think we're clear." Vlad dared to breathe as he very slowly stood up, looking every which way to try and see the tell-tale movement of a cloaked attacker or the shift of a shadow that would betray a hidden ambush. "You ok?"

"I'll live." Arielle assured, ignoring the burn of a shot that had caught her left leg, right across the knee, but the pain would be worth it if this shard before them gave her back the light she needed to reclaim her home and save her friends.

"Do you feel it…?" Vakarian asked as he slipped from Arielle's chest plate and floated to the shard with Sovereign.

"This is gonna be good." Sovereign bounced in a nod as they two looked to the Guardians, light already pooling and gathering around them as their shells expanded and flared wide open to allow the Light to pass through them and fill their Guardians with renewed power and energy once again.

"YES!" Vlad cheered, focusing his attention of the sudden swell of Fallen that had charged them, he reached up and snatched the familiar cold shill of Void energy in his palm and quickly draw back the arrows of his Void bow, losing them easily into the charging Dregs. "Let 'em have it Ari!" he smiled as he took pot shots at the stragglers who'd somehow managed to avoid his snare shot.

"With pleasure." Arielle smiled under her helmet, only to pause as she realized there was no arc energy inside her. "What?!"

"Arielle?" Vakarian asked as Vlad pushed the Warlock aside as a Fallen Captain charged her. "Ari what's wrong?"

"I don't have Arc Light…" Arielle said, unloading a few clips into the captain with her rifle. "I have no storm."

"Rose said Grandpa and Kuji got new light, you must have too." Vakarian said, "you have light Arielle, that's what matters. Use it!"

Arielle nodded and reached into herself, finding the faintly familiar burn of Sol light and instantly she grabbed it and let it swell into her vines like the burn of her Sunsinger class, but this was different, the flames were hotter, and they cut through her rather than bubbled.

"Move Vlad!"

Arielle's warning was enough to give Vlad time to duck for cover as burning heat swept over him, cutting into the Fallen with ease as flames scattered and caused further damage from their intended target.

"Nice!" Vlad cheered as the few remaining Fallen ran away, chased by a few more flaming blades that raced through the air after them. "Arielle you look… wow," He said watching the Warlock slowly fall to the ground, wings of pure flames burning from her back as the blade in her hand burned brightly with power. "You ok?" he asked.

"I'm… I'm not sure. I was never very connected with Sol light before, even as a Sunsinger." She admitted, "This is new to me."

"You'll get use to it." Vlad smiled, "Took me a while to get use to Blade Dancing and you saw how many times Rose got fizzled from her Arc light." He reminded.

"Yea, I guess I do just need a little time." The Warlock nodded as the flames died away with the sword.

"We better call Kuji for pick up." Vlad said. "Zavala's gonna want to know he has two more Guardians with light who can help out."

Arielle nodded, though inwardly she was not as calm.

Why had the Shard given her Sol light and not Arc? Was she no longer worth of the Storm? Had she become too weak to handle the energy of the Storm?

"Oh, come the fuck on!" Orion snarled, "A Hydra?! Cayde you fucking owe me for this!" he added as he ducked for cover behind a broken wall.

A shot burned through Rose's shoulder armour and threw her from her cover into a pile of rubble. "ARGH! That's it!" She snapped and there was a loud 'snap-crack' of Arc energy as she lept over Vlad and slapped the Arc staff down onto the Hydra's eye, sweeping the staff over her head and bringing down the smaller vex and the shielding on the Minotaurs long enough for Orion to finish them off while Rose cleared up the straggling Vex.

"I HATE VEX!" She screeched in anger, kicking a Goblin head off the ledge, clutching her shoulder tightly as the armour smoked under her hand. "Damn it all that hurts!"

"Quick! Hurry, come on! I don't know how long this portal will stick!" Cayde-6 pleaded as he hovered in his small teleportation box. "Long story, and it may look like I don't know what I'm doing but I do – k maybe not – doesn't matter!" he hurriedly explained. "Killing the power source at the origin point should break the loop and get me out of the portal system. "How you got that? Tell me you got that! Say something!" he demanded frantically.

"We got it." Orion said, "Now how did you-"

"Oh my cotton socks! Did you not here what I just said?!" Cayde demanded before he vanished once again.

"Is that why Zavala and Ikora don't like Cayde leaving the Tower?" Bing asked.

"Basically." Wrex nodded. "Failsafe, where is this power source Cayde mentioned?"

~ "The Vex teleporter is located in the Pools of Luminance," ~ The crashed A.I said with a cheerful tone. ~ "I have uploaded the coordinates to you." ~ She added.

Once they reached the Pools, Orion winced as he was stung by the white fluid that rippled around them. "What is this stuff?" he asked shaking his hand to try and get the feeling back into his fingers.

~ "The pools are full of Radiolaria. Mind fluid." ~

"The stuff inside the Vex?" Rose asked.

"Yea," Orion nodded, "Ikora says it's some kind of organic compound, meaning the Vex aren't pure robot." He said as they began to make their way around and over the fluid. "Do you think the guys on Earth are ok?" He asked jumping from one rock to another to avoid the fluid below.

"They'll be fine." Rose assured, jumping after him and then moved back to a give Orion more room to make a running a jump. "Hawthorne's got a good shot and Shaxx is there, they'll be ok." She added. "Plus, Ari's gonna get her Light back. So, they'll have one of the best Stormcallers around to help melt the Cabal and Fallen."

"Just like the good old days." The Titan chuckled then winced as the air got cooler and the room filled with Vex teleportation portals. "Speaking of which."

Rose smiled and slapped a new clip into her rifle. "Bring it on." She challenged as Goblins and Fanatic Vex began to fire on them.

They managed to clear the room fairly quickly, splitting up and forcing the Vex to split their attention and thus, giving them an easier time shooting down the Fanatics and the resulting explosions wrecked the Vex that were close by, though not without Orion suffering a small blast to his chest armor, then after shutting down and retrieving the Vex teleporter, Failsafe told them that Cayde was now at her reactor core and sent them the location, though within moments of leaving the Pools of Luminance, Failsafe explained that the Fallen were starting to arrive at her location as well.

The fight to get into the crash site was easy as the Vex and Fallen were already destroying each other, giving Rose and Orion the chance to sneak past them and save the ammo for what might lay ahead of them, which turned out to be several Fallen Captains and a Barron.

"Watson, next time Cayde gets a dumb idea like this you smash into his head a few times to make him change his mind, got it?" Orion asked as they moved from cover to cover, firing as they went.

~ "You think I didn't try? He never listens to me." ~

"Trade ya!" Rose yelled suddenly and Orion watched as the Hunter jumped onto the back of the Fallen Barron and used a knife to cut the throat open, snatching up the heavy Scorch Cannon the now dead Barron had been using and unleashed its fire power on the Fallen around them.

"Was she always this bold or is this new to you too?" Wrex asked.

"Nope, defiantly new." Orion said.

~ "You have saved us! Updating crew logs!" ~ Failsafe exclaimed in joy as the last of the Fallen fell dead under the Scorch Cannon. ~ "Crew log updated. Welcome aboard captain." ~

"Cayde?" Rose called out as they looked around the reactor core for the Hunter Vanguard. "Watson?"

"Here-"

"Hey-hey! Down, down, down."

Rose chuckled as Watson was pulled back down behind the small set of steps and then Cayde's head popped up. "We got the Vex thing you wanted." Orion said holding up the device.

"The Light found its way back to you?" Cayde asked, looking at the light that burned around Rose. "Not that I'm jealous or nothin' but take it easy out there will ya? Your making me look bad."

"Rose, Kuji and Grandpa are the only ones with their Light for now. Ari and Vlad went to try and regain their, while we came looking for you." Orion explained as he tossed Cayde the Vex teleporter. "What were you planning to do with that anyway?"

"Get up close and personal with Ghaul, put a bullet in his head. And maybe eat a sandwich." Cayde said as he began to fiddle with the device. "Gotta work out a few kinks first. Fun Fact about the Vex tech, not as intuitive as you would think-OW!" he winced as the device shocked him.

"Cayde you can't do this alone." Bing said.

"Hell I can't-OW!" Cayde yelped again, shaking his hand to try and get the feeling back into the sensors on his fingers before going right back to his tinkering.

"Cayde, even if you managed to kill Ghaul, when the Red Legion leave a system defeated or victorious, they leave nothing behind." Orion said, remembering what he had learnt from Ikora and Arielle during the few Cabal encounters he'd had before this.

"The Cabal are bad guys who do bad things. Yes, I know." Cayde said still fiddling with the device, even as it closed on his hands, trapping them inside.

"I'm sorry, but I do not think you do." Rose said. "The Cabal literally leave nothing behind. They have a weapon that can destroy a star and it is now pointed directly at our Sun."

"If that weapon is fired there will be NOTHING left Cayde." Bing stated as Cayde yanked his hands free.

"Hey-hey-hey! Easy, you're gonna blow out a bulb." The Vanguard tried to sooth, seeing Bing's shell frantically flare out.

"Zavala has a plan. He needs you Cayde." Rose said, taking her Ghost in her hands and gently rubbing at the panels to ease the tension and stress away.

"Yes well Zavala says he has a plan but sometimes he-wait." Cayde said stopping his work and looking at the two of them. "Zavala said he needs me? As in you heard those exact words, coming out of Zavala's mouth?" he asked.

"Yes." Rose nodded.

"Please tell me you recorded it!?" Cayde pleaded bringing his hand together in prayer only for Rose to shake her head. "Well did Ikora at least hear this?"

"We can't find her." Orion said and Cayde looked shocked. "Zavala lost both of you during the City's fall. We're not going back to Earth until we find her." He explained.

"Io." Cayde said after a moment of quiet, "Io is where she'd go for answers." He explained.

"Then we go to Io." Orion said, "Zavala's plan won't work without both of you."

"What about Failsafe?" Rose asked.

"We'll come back and help her out when we get rid of Ghaul." Orion assured with a small smile. "Maybe even get her some help with the mess the crash made of her."

"That would be most appreciated. Thank you for your concern." Failsafe piped up.

"To the ships?" Wrex asked.

"To the ships." Orion nodded. "Cayde can fly with Rose." He added as they walked out of Failsafe's reactor core and watched their ships float down towards them.

"If my ship goes pop into a Vex gate because you crossed a wire you're paying for any repairs." Rose warned the Vanguard with a smile.

"I'll leave it for a time when I'm not inside someone else's ship." Cayde assured and then smiled in a relieved way. "And, thanks. I owe you one."

"They found Cayde-6." Vlad smiled as he read over the text from Rose and Orion. "They're heading to Io next to try and find Ikora."

"Keep me informed." Zavala said, not looking up from his plans. It was taking him longer than normal to put everything together, but He needed Ikora's help with the numbers, and though he would never say it allowed in front of the Hunter, Cayde was better at decrypting the Cabal channels then he was.

There was a weak, almost broken chime from the Ghost Shell beside his work station and Zavala looked to the dulling white shell that was the Speaker's Ghost, it's optic flickering weakly as it clung to life, even as Arielle let the trembling shell surround itself in her newfound light.

For such a small creature, the Ghost was incredibly strong willed and refused to fade away. Zavala knew that the Ghost shared a powerful link to the Speaker, much in the same way many Ghosts were bounded to their Guardians, having spent so long searching for them, reviving them and helping them without question, it was a common assumption that the little balls of light were frail and needed to be protected from dangers and that was why so many Guardians had opted to install charging stations into their armour for their Ghosts and why they were treated so well.

The truth was that Ghosts could handle a lot, they might not have weapons, but they had shields and shockingly powerful field energies that could stun and numb grabbing hands long enough to allow the Ghost to fly away to safety. And without a Ghost, no matter how thick or strong armour and weapons were, one lucky shot, one clean stab or even one misstep and a Guardians would be lost forever, thus the unspoken truth was that despite their strengths and weapons, Guardians were nothing without the little balls of light that had chosen them.

"How is he?" Arielle asked Vakarian as she Ghost checked on the Speaker's Ghost with a careful scan.

"He's getting weaker," Vakarian said as he finished his scan, "Without the Speaker's Light he'll keep fading away, no matter what we do."

"There has to be something we can do for him…?" Arielle said, knowing that despite the Ghost not being her own, the pain it must be feeling without the Speaker's Light was unbearable.

"We're doing all we can." Lord Shaxx assured, bringing a new recharge dock over and set it up so it could catch the sunlight. "But without the Speaker, we're only numbing the pains, not healing them."

"We'll do what we can." Zavala nodded.

Arielle sighed. What she wouldn't give to have the Speaker here now, so she could speak with him for some advice and his guidance.

She had never had trouble adjusting to the shifting Light within her before, she'd bloomed from Void to Sol before, in her earliest days on the Reef as a simple Guardian, before she had formed any kind of friendship with Uldren or the Queen she had chosen to live on the Reef and chase after bounties with and for Petra, earning her Light in the farthest place from the Traveler and yet, it had given her the chance to truly extend her use of Void light as a Voidwalker, using the chilling Light to bring down threats to her home and then one day, instead of a Void ball, she had unleashed the flames of Sol upon an advancing battalion of Fallen from the House of Kings, and they had fallen like flies to her miniature Suns.

The Sunsinger ability, as she later learned it was called, was fun, oh the look on Uldren's face when Petra had told him and the Queen that 'the Guardian's pockets of sunshine and won the battle' had been beyond priceless. But none the less, the heat of the Sol Light had only been enough for so long and no matter how hard or how far she pushed herself, it had never felt right to her and during those early days, she'd been more distracted from her training.

Maybe if she'd paid more mind to her Light and not her slowly growling fondles of Uldren, she might have been ready for this new Sol class. But then it made no sense, Rose was a Nightstalker like Vlad before she was taken back to her world and Grandpa had said she was surrounded by Void light when she arrived back here, meaning she and Kuji, like Grandpa were blessed with new Arc Light but both seemed surprisingly well set into the new Light, just as Grandpa was flawless in his new Void light and Vlad was comfortable with his Bow once again.

So why was it hard for her?

The Ghost shell in her hands gave a soft chime, as if trying to sooth the raging questions in her mind with its melodic sounds and despite the worry, Arielle smiled at the Ghost as it continued to chime and sing to her. "I thank you for trying, little one, but I cannot understand you as the Speaker did."

"He says you think too much." Vakarian translated, "He also says you will adjust to the Light inside you, and eventually the storm will return to you."

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Arielle asked.

"Hard," Vakarian nodded. "But not impossible." He said.

They came out of jump space and reached Io just as several Cabal ships were leaving the area, a sudden surge of blueish and white light burned into the sky. "What in the world?" Cayde began to ask only to cut off as Rose clutched her chest. "Kid?"

"That's-" Rose said feeling the light burn in her chest as if in pain at the sight of what had happened. "That's the Traveler's raw energy!"

"What have they done to Io?!" Orion demanded.

~ "I've been trying to find that out for myself." ~ Ikora said over the comms as a familiar dull pink coat landed on the wing of Orion's Ship. Ikora looked worn out, but determined and angry as she carefully made her way along the wing towards the air lock of Orion's ship. ~ "The Cabal have been in and out of this pace since I got here, and no matter how hard I try I cannot get inside their base." ~

"Leave that to us." Rose said as she unclipped her harness. "Cayde, don't crash my ship, Bing get me down there."

"I'll come with you." Orion said allowing Ikora into his ship as he and Rose readied to bail out of their ships. "You'll need someone to be a bullet sponge."

"You die, and Arielle will kill me." Rose reminded.

"So, I'll be a very bad sponge!" Orion assured as he and Rose hit the ground running, vanishing into the base and reporting back at every corner. "Ok, so we got Cabal bailing out faster than we can shoot 'em, and a very big empty base."

~ "Keep looking, Cabal don't just invest so much into a base then abandon it." ~ Ikora said as their ships peeled away from the danger site.

"But what brought them here in the first place?" Rose asked.

~ "They came to desecrate everything we hold sacred, save this place and do not squander this second chance." ~ the Warlock Vanguard pleaded as she and Cayde stayed inside the safety of the Guardians' ships.

~ "We'll save it Ikora, I promise." ~ Rose assured.

"Why are you even here? The Cabal have jammed all comms out of this place." Ikora asked.

"We came to find you." Cayde explained, quickly filling the Warlock in on what he knew. "Zavala needs both of us if he is going to make a plan to stop the Almighty. A weapon that is pointed at our Sun right now."

"What?" Ikora asked in confusion, "But why would Ghaul destroy everything he has worked so hard to conquer? There must be answers inside that Base."

~ "Whoa!" ~

~ "I got ya!" ~

"You kids ok?" Cayde asked.

~ "Yea, I just nearly fell down very a big hole." ~ Orion assured sounding a little sheepish. ~ "Ikora we got a drill down here." ~

"A drill?" Cayde asked. "Are they trying to mine the Raw Light from Io?"

"No, it's not Light, it can't give the Traveler's blessing, not to me or Ghaul or anyone… or can it?" Ikora asked thinking over all she knew as the Guardians continued to relay information to them as they travelled deeper into the base.

~ "Oh, not again." ~ Rose groaned suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Ikora questioned. "Guardians."

~ "Taken Rifts and Defensive wards, too." ~ Orion said as a ghostly, hollow explosion echoed over the comms. ~ "LOTS of them." ~

"The Taken are here on Io?" Cayde asked. "Why?"

"This is my fault… I could have stopped this... I could have tried to stop it…" Ikora said.

"There's no way you could have stopped all of them alone. Not without your Light." Cayde said.

"I am more than my Light." Ikora reminded, "I should have tried… but after all these years of dying and being reborn and dying again, the Traveler has left me with one life and I am afraid to lose it."

~ "Everyone dies eventually." ~ Rose said, ~ "We just have to make sure that before we go, we do something that will make our names memorable to those who come after us. You said that to me once upon another world." ~

Ikora smiled, wondering just how different and alike she and her counterpart in Rose's world were.

"But why are the Taken here? They have no leader now that Oryx is dead." Watson said as he hovered over Cayde's shoulder.

"The Taken will always be drawn to the Traveler's energy, they are no longer Fallen, Hive, Vex or Cabal. They were changed by the Dark power that Oryx controlled He- Wait." Ikora said looking suddenly very pale and sickened. "Is that Ghaul's plan to do the same thing but with the Light?"

"It makes sense," Cayde said, thinking over what they had faced before and all they knew about the Taken, "if he tried to take the light directly from the Traveler there's no telling what he could do if he gets it wrong, but if he practices here… he could get the technique down and then do it on the Traveler."

"And once he has enough energy from Io and the Traveler he plans to turn himself and the Red Legion into Wielders of the Light and if he succeeds, he will become immortal. We have to tell Zavala, hurry and meet us outside."

~ "All channels this is a Sky shock alert! Something drew the Taken here! If they are not stopped Io will implode!" ~

Cayde blinked his optics, "Is that Asher Mir?"

~ "Irrelevant! The Taken must be stopped before they summon more of themselves and devour the Moon!" ~

~ "Well, if there is one thing I'm good at." ~ Orion smiled over the comms. ~ "Its killing shit." ~

~ "First to 100 buys drinks?" ~ Rose asked.

~ "You're on!" ~


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four;

Home again.

"Dominus." His mentor called out as he approached. "Our Operation on the Jovian moon was a success, once the cage is complete we will have everything we need to begin the process of extracting the Light."

"Hmm."

"Everything we've worked for is here for the taking!" His mentor stated. "All that remains is your word."

"No." Ghaul said, "This is not the way, old friend." He added as he walked towards the Speaker again, intent on gleaning more answers from him.

"But it is the way." His mentor asserted. "The ONLY way."

"Not for me." He stated firmly ending the conversation as he returned to his throne once again and began the same, by now familiar waiting game for the Speaker to acknowledge his presence with a shift or small sound, the old man was losing his grip on life, and Ghaul knew he would not live much longer, but before he died, the Cabal Commander would be sure to get as much information from the man as he could.

The smallest rise and fall of the man's shoulders was a giveaway that the man had sighed and Ghaul took that as his acknowledgment. "I have news of your precious Guardians." He stated, "Two more have regained their light." He added and showed the footage captured of Vlad and Arielle, tearing into a Cabal excavation drill, the Void arrows flooding the area with snares while the flames of the Dawn blade cut through the Cabal around and weapons with a near unholy heat.

The Speaker smiled under his mask the Light had chosen its champions it seemed. "Do you expect me to change my answers just because you have shown me what the Traveler has chosen to do with its Light?" He asked.

"No, I want you to help me understand why they have been chosen to rekindle the Light that was lost, where others have not." Ghaul said.

"You are a more a fool then I thought if you think I will simply tell you what they have done to earn the Light. You have your own ways to find out." The old man stated.

Ghaul growled beneath his mask but said nothing more as he instead began his own research into the Guardians that had been gifted the Light once again.

It would be a long and difficult search, a result of his own forces destroying so much of what had been saved and preserved in the Tower already, but what he found left him in no doubt that these Guardians would be the ones who came to face him at the end.

He would crush them as he had all other foes who had stood between him and his goal.

"How long have the Taken been here Asher?" Cayde asked as he cooked some rations over a fire and Orion laid down to rest in his ship, after having fought through Cabal, Vex and Taken to bring a fragment of Rasputin's network back online so they could scan the Almighty, both Guardians were exhorted and needed to rest before they returned to Earth, Rose had already fallen asleep, slumped in her pilot seat while Bing and Wrex ran pre-launch preparations on both ships.

"Not long, only a year." Asher said, "They have been trying to spawn their spectral friends here, but so far have only managed to conjure strange orbs that cannot be destroyed and cleansed or removed."

"Why?" Cayde asked, "What's here that could be so interesting?"

"Questions for another time, right now, we have others things to worry about," Asher said waving the issue off, "If this Titan Commander blows up the Almighty, the sun will also go up with it." He said, "You must stop his identical plan before he ends us all."

"We'll deal with that." Ikora said, "I want you to keep monitoring the Taken activity here. In case it leads to something else."

"Yes, yes, I will keep an eye on the situation, a valuable chance to gather information and knowledge about the Taken." Asher assured, accepting a small bowl of soup from Cayde as the Hunter handed another bowl to Ikora. "But they are so far no threat, few in numbers even with the attempts to summon others of their kind here. I doubt that they will be of any kind of trouble."

"What has the data scan told us?" Cayde asked.

"The Almighty is inextricably bound to the harmonic resonance of the sun's magnetic flux tubes." Asher said.

"What does that mean in not so many big words?" Bing asked as he hovered over, his systems giving off several conformation chimes to signal the ship was ready to fly.

"He means that if Zavala blows up the Almighty it'll take the sun with it." Ikora translated, "It's time we re-joined Zavala." She added gently shaking Rose awake as Bing started up the ships engines.

"Looks like that hot shower's gonna have to wait a little longer." Orion sighed as the ship began to come alive around him with the take-off protocol.

"Cold water and a bit of soap does the trick just fine." Rose yawned, "That or just stand under a waterfall for a few minutes."

"Titan's don't do Wild life survival Rose, you know that." Orion chuckled.

The rest of the trip back to Earth was spent in relative quiet, though every now and then Ikora and Cayde would try the comm sto see if they could get a signal to Zavala sooner, though the attempts failed and it was almost pitch black when they returned to Earth, but the Guardians and Civilians were soon awake again and cheering as the Vanguard and fire team returned safely. After a quick debrief, and a scolding from, Arielle to Orion for making her worry, Rose, Vlad, Orion and Arielle went to get some much-needed rest while the Vanguard gathered to talk in privet.

"So what you are saying is we're damned if we do and damned if we don't." Cayde surmised as he, Ikora and Zavala looked over the situation together in the old barn, keeping their voices low so as not to wake Shaxx or anyone else who had fallen asleep near them.

"On the contrary," Zavala said, "Now that we are together again we might just stand a chance."

"The fact is," Ikora said as she paced slowly, "If we destroy that weapon then we'll set about a chain of events that could turn out sun into a supernova," she stated and then raised an eye brow as Cayde gently petted a chicken that had hopped up on the table.

"Well, at least we have each other." Cayde said.

"Indeed." Zavala said trying not to roll his eyes. "We all know what needs to be done. The Traveler must be freed."

"I'm thinking the three of us and a big fat pile of explosives can get that job done." Cayde said, placing the chicken down and dusting his hands off, "I still have that Vex teleporter, it has limited range so we'll have to get a little too close for comfort."

"Then we get inside the City walls for it to be effective." Zavala stated.

"Without the Light an outright assault on the Wall is doomed to fail," Ikora said, "There will be no coming back if we go down this time."

"It'll be worth it." Cayde assured.

"How do we get in?" Ikora asked.

"Same way I got in here." Hawthorne stated, drawing the Vanguard's attention up to her location on a higher platform of the barn. "This Barn is like the wall, lots of places to slip in, if you know where to look."

"You sure you aren't one of my hunters?" Cayde asked as the woman dropped down from her place to join them.

"Not into capes." Hawthorne stated.

"Clearly." Cayde smiled. "Nice poncho." He added

"You need to get your teams into the City without raising any alarms, my people and I can help you do that, and we also happen to be very good at shooting bad guys." Hawthorne offered.

"Hawthorne this doesn't have to be your fight, it's one thing for us to put our lives on the line but you are not-"

"A Guardian?" Hawthorne finished for Ikora, and the Warlock Vanguard winced slightly at the sharp tone. "We've had to live without the Light all our lives out here and we've been fighting to survive since before the Traveler came to Earth. Once upon a time that big ball in the sky was there for all of us, its time repaid the favor."

"Great speech and all, but there are big issues standing in the way still," Cayde pointed out.

"If we can't destroy the Almighty, then we have to disable its weapon. And that means getting a team of Guardians on board." Zavala said.

"They'll need a good disguise if they're going to fly through a Cabal Armada." Ikora remarked, "We barely managed to get Vlad onto the Dreadnaught."

"If it's a Cabal ship you need, there is a base nearby that's full of them." Hawthorne said, "But sneaking in to that place won't be easy."

"Oh, we're done sneaking around." Zavala said firmly, "if there is one thing I've learnt from Cayde, it's the value of a grand entrance." He stated and began to lay out his plan.

Zavala planned for three of the rekindled Guardians to go into the Cabal Base near the Farm and steal the ship of Thumos the Unbroken to get to the Almighty while the remaining two Guardians with Light would stay behind on Earth and help them storm the City walls.

It was a risky mission and a lot hung on whomever was sent to the Almighty and their success and while Arielle would have been grateful for such a mission before, now she found herself uncertain and almost overwhelmed by the Light she had.

"You ok Babe?" Orion asked as he came over alone, Wrex had chosen to stay by the fire pit with the others. Orion was carrying two bowls of what smelt like a fresh, home brewed stew.

"Where did you get real food?" Arielle asked as he offered her one of the bowls.

"Tess." The Titan smiled, "She had some stashed away, now she's sharing."

"Remind me to thank her later." The Warlock smiled and moved over on the edge she was sat on, giving Orion room to sit beside her. "And what makes you think I'm not ok?"

"Because you've been staring out at nothing for the past hour, even though Rose called out to you to say food was ready." He explained lightly, his brow furrowed slightly in worry.

"Hm," Arielle said and the two lapsed into a short silence as they enjoyed their meal, then Arielle sighed. "It's not that I'm not 'ok', it's just, strange not having to use Sol Light rather than my Storm."

"Strange?" Orion repeated, "I'm not sure I follow Ari."

"In theory," Arielle began, "we start with the weakest Spark of Light for our class, Void for Warlocks, Arc for Titans and Sol for Hunters and as we become more accustom to the Spark and what it can give us, we start to develop and reach out eventually we reach the stage where the Light grants us our second spark, Sol for Warlocks, Void for Titans and Arc for Hunters and we repeat the cycle until we get our final spark."

"Arc Storms for Warlocks, Sol Hammers for Titans and Void Bows for Hunters." Orion nodded, "And no matter what happens or which Spark we stick with, the three Sparks of Light are always active and growing inside us just in case we ever have to use them again, right?"

Arielle nodded, she placed her hand on her chest, "The Light in me, its Sol, but it's so different from the fire that I had as a Sunsinger. The Sunsinger was warm and inviting, there was power, but it was gentle and always felt like waking up from a nap. This one… its fiercer, hotter and I feel like its boiling my blood. In a weird way, it reminds me of the Storm, but the Storm was natural. Flowing through me; part of me. This one scares me. I'm afraid of losing myself to it, of hurting others with it."

"It sounds a little bit like how my Hammers felt." Orion said after a moment. "The fire inside was hottest right before I grabbed my Hammer then it would burn so hot the armour on my hands would burn white, but it never hurt me, and when the heat died away, the warmth inside was bearable again."

"It's like that, but this Dawn Blade feels like its fighting me, it feels like no matter how many times I use it, I'm trying to do something I shouldn't, something the Blade can't do." Arielle said, "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. And I'm scared that if I keep trying to use it the wrong way, it will burn me."

"Maybe it's not that you are doing things wrong, but that you are trying to use the flames the same way you did Sunsinger flames?" Orion suggested.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"When you first used the Dawn Blade, were you focusing on your attacks or just letting the Light flow?" Orion asked.

"I focused." Arielle said as if it were the most obvious answer. "I have to focus, or there's a chance the fire would become unstable and cause me harm."

Orion shook his head, "The Spark of Light can't hurt the Guardian using it because when our Ghost revive us, we are created within the Light of our Ghosts, making us immune to the internal ill-effects of the Sparks of Light." He explained. "Its why Guardians don't make physical contact with Guardians right after an Iron Banner or Crucible match, the excess energy from Sol and Arc can cause minor burns or electrocution to others not using the same Light."

"Who told you that?" Arielle asked in surprise.

"Lord Saladin." Orion said, "I ran a few matches with Saix and Kai before I teamed up with Vlad way back before we met you."

"And you remembered it all this time?" She asked with a smile.

Orion gave her a look that screamed mocking hurt, "I will have you know I have a very good memory."

"Really? So how many times have I had to remind you not to steal my kills?" she asked knowingly. "Or that I can take care of myself?"

"I haven't done that in a while." He defended weakly, "and I know you can look after yourself babe, its just sometimes you go and do something that scares me. Like when you faced Skolas for the second time, and when we were on the Dreadnaught on our way to face Oryx."

"I had reasons." Arielle tried to defend. "And I could have handled more."

"But you could have died both times," Orion said, "Arielle in all the time I've know you you've only died once because your storm was over charged and the mess it left you in still haunts me, but you have never once shown fear for yourself until now." He went on and Arielle realized she'd not hidden the fear in her voice as well as she'd thought. "Do you want me to talk with Zavala and have you put on the Tower team?"

"No." Arielle said firmly, "I can do this Orion, I just need time to get use to this new Sol Light and I won't get that sneaking around like a Hunter. I have to face this head on."

"Alright." Orion nodded, "But you better come back alive." He added.

"Plans for me when this is over?" She asked with a smile.

"Maybe." Orion chuckled, "But also the fact that if you don't come back, the Queen and Prince are gonna have my name on Petra's Bounty list."

They shared a laugh at the old joke and eventually retreated back to the warmth of the fire pit when the night air got just a little too chilly for them, finding Kuji spread over one long seat with his head resting on his arms with Val resting beside his Guardian, Iris was nowhere to be seen but Grandpa slept in a seated position in a corner of the seats, hands resting in his lap and his head bowed to show his was in a state of shut down, Rose and Vlad were across from Grandpa, Vlad laid flat on his back, looking up at the stars as he slept, Sovereign settled on his chest while Rose lay partly curled on her side on one of the shorter seats, Bing cupped close to her chest in one hand while the other arm was under her head.

Orion and Arielle settled on the longest seat at the back of the fire pit after tossing a few more logs on to the fire, leaning against one other as sleep slowly came to them.

After a quick breakfast of ration bars and a glass of water, Zavala had agreed to let them draw straws to decide who got what job, the three longest straws would be going into the city, the three shortest straws would be going to the Almighty. Orion, Rose and Kuji drew long while Vlad, Grandpa and Arielle drew short, but to throw the Cabal off the trail of the leaving team, Orion's team agreed to go on a small raid mission to draw attention away from the base by storming the tunnels that came out inside the Gulch area of the EDZ, giving Arielle and her team at least a chance to get in without being detected until they were deep into the base.

Zavala hadn't been eager to hear that, thinking that the plan would weaken their already thin numbers, but it had been Rose who said that if everyone moved on the City at once while only three Guardians went after a ship, Ghaul would no doubt see through their plans and move his forces to destroy them all.

And so while Arielle, Grandpa and Vlad slowly made their way through the Dark Forest to the Sunken Isles, taking out the Fallen who were fool enough to get in their way, Orion, Kuji and Rose stormed the Tunnels that ran underground between the Gulch and the Sunken Isles sending the Cabal into a frenzy trying to kill them, a task made harder for the Cabal by a modified Tank Amanda had been working on that she named the 'Drake'.

~ "You got us a Tank!?" ~ Bing asked sounding utterly elated at the idea, ~ "Thank you Amanda!" ~

"You got them a TANK?" Cayde gasped, "Why didn't I ever get a Tank?"

~ "We all know you'd have just trashed it." ~ Amanda stated with a smile in her voice. ~ "Holla if you need more of these, Guardians I got plenty of them to go around." ~

"Oh, so they get everything, and I get nothing. I see how it is." Cayde pouted.

Ikora couldn't help but chuckle, it was so familiar to have Cayde making childish jokes and Zavala so rarely humoring the Exo, even though they all knew just how dire this situation was. She looked around, watching Shaxx leave the Farm with the first groups of Guardians and Refugees, it would take them only a few hours to reach the city with the help of several stealth drives that had been made on the Farm and installed into the largest ships, easily capable of carrying handfuls of people back and forth.

~ "How close are you Ari?" ~ Orion asked over the comms as the gunshots from tanks and Cabal ships echoed over the comms.

~ "We see the base, but it's a sheer drop to get down. We're going to look for a safer rough down." ~ The Warlock explained, ~ "You guys ok?" ~

~ "I want a mini Tank for my Shell!" ~ Wrex cackled madly, ~ "Amanda if I could I would hug you! This is AWSOME!" ~

~ "We're near the exit to Sunken Isles. But the Cabal brought in one of their best Tanks to try and stop us." ~ Kuji said, ~ "But we've got it." ~

Iris could be heard sighing over Grandpa's comms, ~ "Hunters, all of you are suicidal." ~

~ "Nah we just live for danger." ~ Vlad chuckled.

~ "Like she said, suicidal." ~ Grandpa chuckled fondly.

~ "Hey that was my shot!" ~ Orion accused.

~ "Should have taken it then." ~ Bing giggled as the tank fire grew louder.

There was suddenly a very powerful explosion and for a moment the comm channels rippled with static and white noise.

"Guardians?" Zavala asked.

~ "We're here." ~ Orion panted over the comms. ~ "That Cabal tank's gone though." ~

~ "It went boom." ~ Rose stated with a clear smile in her voice, ~ "In a very spectacular way." ~

~ "We felt that through the ground." ~ Vlad said in shock, ~ "How close are you guys?" ~

~ "Look down." ~ Orion instructed. ~ "There's a pathway down to us, but you'll have to watch your steps, those rocks look narrow even from here." ~

"Well, Ari have you to catch her if she slips," Cayde joked.

~ "I can still set your ass on fire." ~ Arielle reminded with a hint of a smile.

"You have to find me first." The Vanguard reminded, all in good nature.

"You will have to take down Thumos the Unbroken, one of Ghaul's 'chosen', the key codes to his ship are your ticket to the Almighty." Zavala explained as the six Guardians came together. "He will have many Cabal willing to die for him, but that should be no trouble for you."

~ "Are we due a full moon or something?" ~ Kuji asked, ~ "He just complimented us. It's gotta be a full moon somewhere." ~

"They're shielding the Carrier!" Valmont said as a bright orange shield fizzled to live around the carrier ship they needed to get on. "Why do the Cabal have an obsession with damn shields?"

"We can take out the generators and ground the Carrier with a rocket to the engines." Rose said, "While we do that, Ari, Vlad and Grandpa can slip on board while we keep the Cabal busy out here."

"I like that plan." Grandpa nodded.

"Second." Orion agreed.

"We're doing what she said." Kuji stated already driving the Drack Tank towards the generator closest to them.

"Good luck guys." Rose smiled.

"Stay safe." Arielle instructed as the teams split up again.

Another wave of Cabal had tried to invade and slaughter her people, only to fall like flies as her people and Guardians fought to keep them out of what was their home and sanctuary, snipers lined up shots and took down the heavily armoured Cabal Generals while close range fighters cut deep into the throats and chests of those who tried to get in close and break through the lines of defence.

Rockets and mortar fire had kept the Cabal ships from landing close to the Outpost and also helped bring down the troops before they could reach the fights, and while some Cabal did have a small hold on the very edges of her home, the Queen knew that they would not stay long thanks to the efforts of a small band of Guardians who had taken to patrolling alongside her brother's Crows and driving the clinging Cabal forces away.

The fight had ended and now the injured soldiers returned, the Reef Awoken helping Guardians of all kinds walk and visa versa as healers and Ghosts worked to mend and heal what they could in this moment of peace that gave everyone that chance to rest and regain some energy and strength before the forces went back out to stop another wave. The News of the Light being rekindled in others had spread like wild fire and brought a sense of hope back to the Guardians and their Ghosts and whenever possible, those were had not been lucky enough to survive a bullet or explosion were brought back and placed to one side with great care and covered with a sheet, but each had been given a promise that somehow those who remained would make it right.

"Make a room on a Cot." A familiar Guardian called out and drew the Queen's attention to the front of the gathering as the last group of wounded came in.

Anna Lee was amongst them, limping and clearly in great pain as blood stained the coat on her right side and her helmet was badly dented at the right end, as if something had caught her there with tremendous force and power, but clearly the impact had been worse for the Titan she had slung over her shoulders, he was barely able to walk on his own two feet. Anna Lee set the Titan down on a cot where he could be treated for his injuries while Fang instantly fizzing to life and focused what energy into slowly healing the injury to the Warlock as she reloaded and restocked her weapons.

"Anything?" The Warlock asked her Ghost.

"A snippet now and then about Guardians raiding the bases. But nothing from the main fleet." Fang explained.

"The Vanguard? Arielle?" Anna Lee asked.

"Nothing yet." Fang admitted defeatedly. "Do you think everyone's ok?"

"They better be. Arielle owes me a rematch." Her Guardian stated. "Keep listening out for anything that could be of use, we might get lucky." She added.

"Got it." Fang bounced in a nod.

"You're still listening to comm chatter on the field?" Someone else asked what the Queen suspected.

"What if the Cabal catch on?" Another asked.

"Let them, I have a whole list of annoying songs and tunes to keep them busy." Fang asserted firmly, giving her shell a twist. "We're going back out?"

"We are but first," Anna Lee began, trying to pull her helmet off, then sighed and gave it a harsh tug to force it off her head. "I need to bash the dents out of this."

"You need to eat." Fang stated hovering close to Anna Lee's face. "You haven't had anything but a ration bar for a meal for the last three days. You need real food, like that stew Petra makes."

"Fine I'll eat." Anna Lee said, "But you don't get to complain if I go out without a helmet next time the alarms go off."

"We'll borrow one from Variks." Fang suggested, "and if we damage it we can bring him some extra glimmer. Then he can't yell at us for not paying for it."

"That's assuming we earn enough to pay for it when this whole mess is over." Anna Lee smiled.

"We will- Oh!" Fang yelled and everyone turned to watch as the Ghost floated up, flaring her shell open and then found the apparent strongest point and filtered the static out and white noise. "Come on, come on…"

"What you got Fang?" Anna Lee asked.

"Clearing static, redirecting junk signals… We need to find the Queen." Fang said with a sudden tone of joy.

They'd managed to get away from the Cabal base with Thumos' stolen ship, and now they flew through the stars, with the hopes and prayers of everyone on Earth who could well die if they didn't succeed on this mission.

"You ok?" Grandpa asked her as he carefully cleaned his weapons. "You look tense."

"Just trying not to think about what happens if we fail." She admitted. "So many lives are counting on this plan working."

"Don't think about it like that." The Titan said, "It'll just add more pressure, just think of it as one of Ikora's special missions, it'll be less stressful."

"Easier said than done." Vlad said. "I know you've faced thus kinda shit before Grandpa, you're one of the oldest Titan's the Guardians have, but this is different. We're the only ones with Light and if we don't break this weapon of Ghaul's the entire solar system could be destroyed."

"But that won't happen." The Exo Titan stated, "We're going to disable the weapon, then we're going to return to earth and safe our home."

"How can you be so sure?" Sovereign asked.

"Faith and history." Grandpa smiled. "We've faced a lot, the heart of the Black Guardian, Crota and his sect, the House of wolves, twice, Oryx and the Taken, the SIVA infestation and a few smaller things, we struggled at first, and then we found a way to win, and that's what we're doing now." He added.

"But what if we can't?" Arielle asked. "What if we fail for the first time?"

The Titan Exo shook his helm. "We won't fail."

Vakarian suddenly pinged and Arielle looked at her Ghost. "What is it?"

Vakarian was silent for a moment then gave a chuckle, "I think you are gonna want to be alone to hear this."

Vlad and Grandpa nodded and left to finish their work in the cockpit of the ship.

Anna Lee and Fang stayed long enough to make sure the signal was clear and then left the room, Fang pausing at the door to say that the signal would stay clear until they left the edge of the Reef Outer Marker's reach and dipped her shell in a bow before they left the room, allowing the Queen and Arielle privacy.

So many questions, so many words that should be said, that NEEDED to be said and yet at the same time, it was not possible to say them, they both knew it, and still the thought that she could not even ask out right how the woman she considered and how legally taken as a sister was fairing in this mess stung bitterly.

But, Mara Sov knew that there was more than one way to ask a question, the years together before Arielle discovered the plot between the Queen and her brother had given the two a deeper understanding. One that Mara was glad to know how not faded or weakened in Arielle's time on the Tower.

"You have a plan." She stated firmly. 'Tell me what is happening.'

~ "We have a plan. The Vanguard, Orion, Rose and Kuji are going into the City with what few forces we could ready in time for this while Vlad, Grandpa, and myself go to the Almighty and disable the weapon system, rendering it useless." ~ Arielle seemed certain but there was something in her voice that wasn't quite the same as the confident Sword the Queen knew. 'We're doing stupid things, against near impossible odds and we're doing it with or without the Light.'

"Something troubles you." The Queen said after a moment of silence. 'I hear uncertainty in your voice, what is wrong?'

~ "Five of us have our light back but it is new and strange to me, I am no longer a Stormcaller, Mara, I am a Dawn Blade. A Class of Sol light that has not been seen since the days before Osiris. It is a lot to handle on top of knowing that if we fail this mission, millions of lives, Guardian, Human and Awoken will be lost." ~ Arielle admitted, unable to hide the fear now that it had been noticed. 'I can't use that which made me so powerful before and I am unsure how to use what I have been given instead. I am scared of it but I cannot show it because I have a job to do.'

Mara pondered her words. Arielle was not someone easily swayed by words, no matter how much she wanted to hear them. "You adapted to the Sol light once, you can do it again. You are a Guardian Arielle, but you are also my Sword, chosen to be the weapon that cuts my enemies down, be it Light, bullet or blade. You will overcome this threat to your people and mine and then you will come and detail the results in full." The Queen stated firmly. 'I witnessed you change and adapt to the different Light before and I watched you become greater than I could ever help you be. You do what you must to be what you must, Guardian or Sword you will always be Arielle and you will overcome any obstacle in your path. I forbid you to die.'

~ "As soon as possible." ~ Her Sword promised after a moment of silence and Mara was glad to hear the fear was now gone from her voice. 'I will come back when it's over.'

"The Hunter's return to this word?" She asked. 'How is she here again and is she here to stay?'

~ "The Speaker's Ghost went to her world and brought her back to us, I have no idea how it works or how he knew what he was doing, but Rose will fight this battle with us as she did before and I have no doubt she will stay this time." ~ Arielle sounded like she was smiling. 'She's here by different means than her first encounter, but she wants to stay.'

Mara Sov made a sound of understanding and shifted ever so slightly in her throne as static began to edge its way into the channel. "Do as you must." 'Be safe.'

"Always." And with that final word, the channel flooded with static once again and the Queen of the Reef was left with all she needed to know and the unspoken relief that Arielle was not only alive, but she was working to end the Cabal threat to them all.

"This thing is huge." Vlad said as they landed on the starboard end of the Almighty. "How are we gonna find anything?"

"Our best bet is to follow the fuel stream." Iris said as she floated beside Grandpa's helmeted head, "That big beam of light under our feet."

"Then we better hurry." Arielle said and together the three made their way around the cat walks and walk ways, killing the Cabal patrols swiftly and those who didn't die in the hail of bullets were kicked or shoulder rammed off the edge of the cat walks to their deaths as Vlad unleashed his Void arrows with familiar ease, tethering Cabal to make them easier targets for Arielle and Grandpa's weapon fire and when there were no ledges to toss the Cabal off, Grandpa let the Void take over his body and sent his shield into the Cabal ranks, decapitating some and completely disintegrating others as Vlad and Arielle unloaded bullets and rockets and shot gun shells into the weakened Cabal.

~ "We're in position," ~ Orion stated over the comms.

~ "Prepare to go silent." ~ Zavala instructed. ~ "We can't give the Red Legion any warning." ~

"Be safe Orion." Arielle pleaded.

~ "You too babe." ~

Arielle could feel the heat of the Sol light inside her burning with strength, she could snatch the handle of her blade at any point, and scorch the Cabal into ashes, and despite the confidence boost from her Queen, there was still fear that the fire would burn her.

"You can do this Ari." Vakarian assured softly.

"Can I?" She asked.

"The Queen believes in you," Vakarian reminded, "I believe in you and so do the others, the only one who doubts you is you."

Arielle shook her head. "I'm not sure I can do it…"

"Sometimes we have to accept that things happen for reason." Grandpa said as they made their way into a new room, one that was unbearably hot as the sun's light and heat all but chocked the room. "Looks like we're going outside."

"In that heat?" Iris said, "We'll melt!"

"Not if you stay inside our armour and we stick to shadow hopping." Vlad assured as Sovereign vanished into his helmet. "We just have to hope that helps us avoid sunburn."

"Exo's get sunburn?" Arielle asked.

"We can overheat." Grandpa corrected as Iris fizzled away into his armour. "Ready?"

"Keep to the shadows." Arielle nodded as the door opened to the raining flames of the sun.

"Go!" Vlad yelled as they moved as one, Grandpa cutting down Cabal ahead of them while Vlad and Arielle skidded into their first cover, taking a few deep breaths.

"Go!" Arielle yelled and again them moved, shoving a weakened Cabal back out into the sun's raining heat as they moved and paused once again in the next shadow, reloading their weapons.

Then a powerful blast knocked them back and Arielle watched as a Centurion surrounded in a Sol shield lined up another shot at them. "Oh fuck!"

"Use it Arielle!" Vakarian pleaded as Grandpa and Vlad began to fire on the Cabal from both sides, ducking into the shadows to try and save themselves from the unbearable heat of the sun. "We can melt them with one slice. I know it!" he added.

"But I'm not- I can't do it!" Arielle said shaking her head. "I can't use it Vakarian."

"You're a Guardian, Arielle. You've adapted to the Sol light once, you can do it again." Vakarian repeated what the Queen had said, but where Mara Sov's words had been gentle, his were firm and left no room for argument. "You don't have to fear the flames Ari."

"I'm not afraid of the flames Vakarian," Arielle admitted weakly, "I'm afraid of the burning."

"I promise you won't get burned Arielle." Vakarian assured. "I won't let you."

"Ari!"

"Arielle watch out!" Grandpa and Vlad yelled in warning as the Centurion charged the Warlock's shadow.

Arielle closed her eyes and let the flames take over her body once again, letting the weight of the blade in her hand suddenly become lighter as she brought the sword up and sliced the Sol shield clean in half, burning the heavy armour of the Cabal as a second sharper flaming slice ripped the Centurion in half, the deadly flaming slice cutting down the more Cabal easily as she floated form shadow to shadow ahead of Vlad and Grandpa until there was nothing left in their way up the door to return inside the Almighty.

"Ari?" Vlad asked as the flames remained around the Warlock. She turned to him, her normally glowing orange eyes taken by fire, and Vlad realized, Ari hadn't been afraid of the fire in the way they all thought. His own fear rose as she raised the blade, pointing it at him. He took a step back, throwing his arm out in front of Grandpa. Arielle's fiery gaze fell to the blade in her hand and finally herself, as if entranced by the flames that danced along her limb with deadly grace. The Warlock whipped the sword through the air, dispelling the last of her flames. "I didn't burn you."

Grandpa smiled under his helmet, pushing past Vlad as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Ready to see if Cabal are good BBQ options?" he asked.

Arielle nodded.

Rose moved easily, silently and almost too comfortably around the broken remains of the city wall, scrambling over the surfaces of ruined buildings as if she had done it a thousand times before, and where once she had been too afraid to move on her own, now she was brave enough to take the chances needed to get from one place to the next as quickly as she could knowing that her path would be followed by others.

It was familiar to her, the tower standing as a broken marker of North while they had entered in through the sewers to the south, it had been like re walking the steps she'd taken so long ago with Ace and J-Cey when she'd first reach the City. She remembered the fear when she had been a new Guardian, when Cayde-6 himself had come down from his sniper nest and led her, Ace, J-Cey and four Guardians through the ruined streets to the safety of the Tower. She remembered the hours she'd spent learning how to read the shadows for that flicker of a cloaked enemy, how to see where they had been and where they were going, how to line up the shots so they died without a sound, it came flooding back like second nature and while she knew they could only keep this stealth up for so long, they had to keep it from becoming a full-blown assault until the word came that the Almighty was down.

She heard and felt the tremble of movement and froze, listening and watching the shadow of a huge Cabal tank slowly crawled over head on a bridge and slowly rumble away, followed by the tell-tale stomps of foot falls as Cabal soldiers followed the tank. She moved off only when there was no further sounds of Cabal above her, waving for her followers to keep moving until at last they reached their designated position and everyone hunkered down and settled in to wait for their next orders.

"We're in position," Orion stated over the comms.

~ "Prepare to go silent." ~ Zavala instructed. ~ "We can't give the Red Legion any warning." ~

~ "Be safe Orion." ~ Arielle pleaded.

"You too babe." Orion pleaded as they cut the comms off and he settled on his stomach, watching the Cabal off in the distance.

"You ask her to marry you yet?" Kuji asked from somewhere to his left in good nature.

"Not yet. Was going to do it before the Cabal fucked up the plan." He admitted.

"But its Ari we're talking about here, Arielle the Storm Dancer, second only to Ikora, the Sword of Mara Sov. She doesn't need all that mushy stuff." Kuji said, "Does she?" he asked, suddenly not so sure of his comments.

"A little romance never goes amiss with a woman." Rose stated from somewhere to Orion's right. "Doesn't have to be over the top, but a nice date or an evening of being together seems more the kinda thing Arielle would like."

Orion nodded. "I had it all planned out and set up, I paid Petra in full for a bottle of the very best Reef wine Arielle likes and I had to beg Ikora to let me borrow that golden age recipe book of hers, so I could cook her a nice meal for our anniversary. And then this whole fucking mess started."

"You'll have another chance." Rose assured, "Arielle's not going to hold Ghaul's attacking the City against you." She paused, "Unless you die."

There was a loud explosion a few miles to the west, throwing debris and dirt everywhere as the ground shook and rattled under them. Everyone fell silent as Cabal ships flooded the skies over the explosion for a few tense moments and then slowly they began to move off again, shining their lights around to try and find anyone or thing that shouldn't have been there as the explosion had blanketed the area in darkness.

"What was that?" Orion dared to breathe as the patrols left their area.

"Looked like an electrical explosion." Rose said then paused as a code came over the channel. "Orders from Cayde. Everyone stay low and move to secondary positions." She relayed and once again they were moving.

The heat of the room was beyond painful, the only thing stopping them from becoming ash piles was the Cabal shielding that fluctuated with every shot fired from the massive weapon.

"How do we stop this thing?" Iris asked.

"The thermal vents." Arielle said. "We destroy them, and we can stop this." She added throwing the interceptor into high speed and charging the Cabal that tried to stop her. Unloading the Interceptor's weapons into the Cabal and into the exposed vents that had been left unguarded for a short time.

"I like her plan." Vlad nodded and chased after the Warlock, swinging his own stolen Interceptor around to the far side of the weapon while Grandpa went back and forth between the two sides, shooting Cabal to keep them off Vlad and Arielle as they continued to fire on the thermal vents until they had all exploded.

"Temperatures are rising, but it isn't enough." Vakarian said. "We need to disrupt the core of the weapon itself."

"How?" Grandpa asked as they ducked into the supporting chambers of the giant canon.

"This." Vlad smiled suddenly and heaved up a fusion power core. "We toss this into the cannon, then we run like hell."

"Fun times." Arielle said as they moved through the impossibly hot inner workings of the weapon, feeling the heat burning her skin even though she knew she wasn't touching the heated surfaces around her.

"Ready?" Vlad asked as they came to the main cannon's control room.

Grandpa nodded as he and Arielle grabbed onto the sides of the room, braced for the resulting shakes as Vlad slammed the fusion core into the control charging beam.

"That did it!" Vakarian yelled over the thunderous explosions. "Run for it!"

"This way!" Grandpa yelled as he saw a clear path above them. "Iris bring that ship around!"

"On it!" Iris yelled as the three of then raced along the exploding barrel of the weapon as it fell apart behind and even in front of them. "Jump!"

"Zavala?! Orion! We did it! The Weapon is down! I repeat the weapon is down!" Vlad yelled into his comm link. "Begin the assault!"

"We're on our way home!" Iris cheered as they were enveloped in the transmat's pull and then with a powerful shake the Cabal ship raced away from the Almighty.

He was watching the Traveler again.

The Speaker knew because he could hear someone else breathing besides his own shallow ones, struggling to maintain his focus as he felt the pains and aches of his broken body finally becoming too much for his Lightless body to handle without his Ghost.

He hoped that his Ghost was at least able to watch one last sunset before he faded away.

"Ghaul! The enemy attacks the city and the Almighty is lost!" the Consul relayed as he marched swiftly into the room.

"Lost?" Ghaul repeated as he turned away from the window. "Explain yourself."

"Laid waste by the same Guardians who somehow managed to reclaim their powers and have been humiliating our forces throughout this cursed system!" the other said angrily as he came to a stop at the foot of the steps before Ghaul. "You would know this, had you not been wasting your time communing with a machine and the creature he claims to speak to it."

"Take care your tone, Consul." Ghaul warned sternly as the Speaker barely managed to lift his head and watch the encounter with hazed eyes.

"My Tone?! Ha!" the Consul snarled as he rose up the steps. "We will fail in our mission to secure this power and deliver our people. For the first time in the glorious history of the Red Legion- Fail! Because of you and your preoccupations." He accused and then walked past Ghaul, beyond the Speaker's already limited sight. "Look at your Traveler Dominus. The Cage is complete. The time is now. Claim what is rightfully yours and TAKE this power." He insisted firmly.

Ghaul was silent for a time and then walked to the Speaker and stood before him, close enough that the speaker didn't need to try and focus to know he was there. "Tell me Speaker." He instructed. "What more does the Traveler want of me?"

The Speaker shook his head weakly. "Ghaul." He wheezed, "I speak. For the Traveller." He explained, "I never said… it spoke to me…"

The look in Ghaul's eyes, the realization that holding the Speaker captive hadn't given him a direct link into the Traveller was enough to tell the Speaker Ghaul had not truly understood his role to the Guardians as he thought he did. Ghaul walked away from him and returned to looking at the caged Traveler, leaving him just a moment of peace before a painful force impacted his chest, strong enough to force the air from his lungs entirely and shatter his rips before the world went black.

Ghaul turned at the sound of the Speaker's pained grunt, watching the man's body fall to the ground as his mentor released the locks that kept him restrained, the mask that had been upon the man's face skittering on the floor.

"This fixation is over!" Consul proclaimed. "You have already been chosen, not by some inert machine but by ME! I chose you the day I found you! Remember who you are, WHAT you are. You are CABAL! Cabal wait for nothing. You WILL take the Light. Do what you swore and give me the vengeance you promised!" he ordered as he looked at Ghaul, whose attention had been focused on the mask at his feet.

"Look at me student!" the Consul snarled in rage, smashing the mask beneath his foot. "LOOK AT ME!"

"Tssh." Ghaul snorted and grabbed the Consul by the throat tightly, squeezing even tighter as the old one tried to pry his hand away. "I will do what I swore old friend," he spat in rage as he felt the life leave his old mentor's body. "I am Ghaul. And I WILL take the Light." He assured leaving the Cabal who had trained him for so long lifeless at the side of the Speaker as he marched away.

Rose stopped as she heard a soft weak chime echo over her commlink and looked down to her chest where a second Ghost rested in her armour, protected and safe from harm with Bing but also unable to help her or anyone else in their fight.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked softly.

"The Speaker." Bing explained sadly.

Rose sighed softly and gently pressed her hand to the place the Speaker's Ghost was resting, softly chiming to itself a broken tune before it fell silent again. "I'm sorry."

"Rose?" Orion asked but the hunter shook her head and instead busied herself with shooting every Cabal she saw.

"He's gone." Was all she said as she ripped her knife from a Cabal's neck and then kicked the body off a ledge.

"Oh boy." Orion said in realization, "Everyone down!" he yelled as static clung to the air.

"Come on!" Rose yelled and snatched her Arc Staff from the air, sending surge after surge of Arc Light into the Cabal as Kuji and Orion unloaded shots from behind her.

~ "Ikora and I are converging on the rally point. Cayde's already there. We'll use the Vex teleporter to jump to the Traveler... if we get there alive." ~ Zavala said.

~ "We will." ~ Ikora assured.

~ "I'm hacking the grid to knock out the energy barriers that are funnelling us into kill boxes, but they only go down for short stretches." ~ Hawthorne stated as they moved on, killing Cabal as they went, pausing only when they reached barriers.

They'd reached a small courtyard when a ship came over head, but there was no gunfire from it. ~ "Zavala we're back and-" ~ Vlad began to say only to be cut off as a ship was shot down over head.

~ "Guardians!?" ~ Zavala called over the comm links. ~ "Are you still with us?" ~

"We're here." Vlad assured as he and the others jumped down from the roof tops to join Orion, Kuji and Rose. "The Traveler?"

~ "That's why we're here – To stop this madness." ~ Zavala said. ~ "We've reached the rally point, but Cayde is still wrestling with the teleporter." ~

~ "Hey, I can either shoot or work on this thing but not both because they just SHOT OFF MY ARM!" ~ Cayde accused.

"We're coming to you." Arielle said as heat flowed from her. "You ready?" she asked them.

"Hell yes." Rose nodded.

"Let's do this!" Kuji cheered.

And they were off, scrabbling up the broken walls and jagged roof tops to reach the Vanguard, killing Cabal who dared to get in their way, jumping the street fights below as explosions echoed around them.

"We can't hold this position much longer!" Ikora yelled from ahead of them, then Zavala cried out in agony. "NO!"

"Down!" Rose yelled out and unloaded her hand cannon into the Cabal who had tried to cut Zavala in half.

"Nicely done." Vlad nodded, helping Ikora from the edge of the roof to a more stable area. "Can you keep going?" he asked helping her to sit and rest a moment.

"No. Not like this." Ikora said.

"One stable, Teleportation point." Cayde assured as he shuffled back from the teleportation device. "One step and you'll be on Ghaul's ship." He nodded.

"It's on you now, Guardians." Zavala nodded.

"Then let's finish the bastard off." Arielle commented as the six of them reloaded and then jumped through the Teleporter.

He was encased in the Light. Its heat, its energy, its coldness, all in one strange and yet empowering embrace, it was like nothing he had ever felt before and yet all at once, he understood who the Guardians were able to move between the three energies so easily, why they never seemed to stay in the same light as they began with.

It was beyond anything he had ever imagined in his dreams and at the same time, it was everything he had wanted at long last.

And then, in their final act of defiance to him, five bright lights came into his sight, each one, pulsing with strength and power, and with them, six tiny sparks.

The Guardians chosen by the Traveler to stand against him, had arrived.

"Look upon me, Guardians. I am Dominus Ghaul of the Red Legion. Annihilator of suns. Razer of a thousand worlds. Slayer of gods and conqueror of the Light." He proclaimed as the light released him, "And I have become legend."

"Dude, has this guy seen the list of people they've killed yet?" Kuji asked as Arielle and Orion charged at Ghaul head on, Rose and Vlad flanking left and right while he and Grandpa stayed back to pick off the Cabal forces that were starting to converge on the ship around them.

"Doubt it. Or he'd have called in a lot more reinforcements." Grandpa yelled over the gunfire.

"Sword!" Arielle suddenly yelled in warning as Ghaul flung a flaming strike towards them, forcing Kuji and Grandpa to move for cover as heated slices cut the air around them, then when Vlad tried to get out of cover and move again, an Arc bomb sent him skidding back a few feet into Arielle.

"Arc bombs? What the fuck is this guy doing!?" Grandpa snarled trying to line up a rocket only to duck back as a Void shield bounced off the wall where his head had been seconds before. "Shit."

"He's using our Classes against us." Rose hissed, then felt a small tug at her chest. "What is it?" she asked in surprise as the Ghost inside her armour began to sing out softly and Rose felt her body fill with energy. "You're Light? But you'll die!" She warned, feeling the shell shake in its place.

The Ghost have a soft, assuring chime in response.

"He says he'll be happy to see the Speaker again." Bing translated.

"Alright." She nodded, letting the warm Light flood her and then grabbed Orion as he passed her and yanked him back out of the line of fire as Ghaul's Arc Bomb came crashing down around them. "Get him to the others." She told him, placing the weak Ghost shell into Orion's hands.

"You brought him with you?!" Orion gasped.

"He wanted to come." Rose stated. "He'll give us what he can, but that's all he can do for us." She explained and then opening fire on the Cabal trying to flank them. "You're faster than me."

"Got it." Orion nodded. "Vlad!" He yelled, as he ran from cover to cover shooting Cabal down as he went before ducking into Vlad's cover and handing him the glowing shell.

"What?" Vlad asked as he felt the Void in him grow colder and colder.

"Don't ask just keep him til you are full." Orion ordered.

"Got it!" Vlad nodded and once he was sure he could take no more, he gave the shell back. "Grandpa's below us and to the right." He added and Orion nodded.

"Keep 'em, off me." The Titan requested and then began to cover hop once again, ducking around the incoming Void shield attack from Ghaul as Rose and Arielle drew the Light infused Cabal's attention, keeping him focused on them while Orion skidded into the same cover as Grandpa and handed him the weakly glowing shell. "Take what he gives and then give him back to me."

"Incoming!" Grandpa warned and yanked Orion into cover as Ghaul charged them both. "We gotta move big fella!"

"Guys get outta there!" Rose yelled over the gun fire.

Orion grunted and unloaded his rockets into the Centurions that were trying to grab them as he and Grandpa made a rush of new cover and slid into the small alcove where Kuji was hiding, Grandpa passed him the Ghost shell while he and continued to run, drawing Ghaul's attention briefly before a bullet cut into the skin near his mask and he focused of the female Hunter.

Rose ducked behind cover as Ghaul tried to shoot her. "You missed and you're ugly!"

"Over here fuckface!" Kuji crowed out as a shot slammed into Ghaul's back but as Ghaul turned, a rocket shattered against his rear resulting in a bellowing laughter from the Guardians.

"Damn it I was aiming at his front!" Grandpa yelled.

"At least he won't sit down for a while!" Arielle assured.

Ghaul roared in anger and turned again, catching sight of one Guardian who's Light wasn't visible and realized this Guardian had no light at all, making him the weakest and so Ghaul charged him, bringing his hands up with a sickening crackle of Arc Light between his fingers.

"You have failed your Traveller! Failed your GOD! You will DIE!" he proclaimed.

"Ari!?" Orion yelled, searching for the Warlock as he raced between cover, only to scream as a powerful, familiar Arc pain ripped into his body.

"Orion!?" Arielle cried in worry, turning to see not Arc bombs, but the Arc Storm slamming into Orion's armour, throwing the Titan back towards the edge of the ship where he lay motionless save the jerk of the Arc Light that now ravaged his body. "NO!"

"Oh, hell no fucker!" Vlad snarled and realised the Void arrows into Ghaul, forcing the Cabal down from the sky, tethering him and several other Cabal to their Void shots.

"Get him Grandpa!" Kuji yelled as he charged Ghaul with his Arc Staff.

"You done fucked up now!" the Titan yelled flinging his frisbee at the downed Cabal, watching the armour around Ghaul break and dent with the force of impact as Kuji's arc Staff slammed against his knees and hips, forcing him to stagger even as the Void tether faded away.

"Orion? Babe talk to me! Babe!" Arielle pleaded, having dragged the downed Titan into cover with her, "Fucking talk to me!" she demanded frantically. "Orion!"

"Ow… ow…" Orion managed to wheeze. "Fuck that hurts…" he choked, coughing up blood. "Shit."

"Bing!" Rose ordered and her Ghost fizzed into life, using his Light to try and heal the scorch skin beneath Orion's armour.

"Working on it." Bing assured as he and Vakarian fed Light into Wrex and Orion, trying to heal them.

"Don't worry 'bout me…" Orion wheezed, "Help the others..." He added shooing Bing away.

"No, you fucking son of a bitch!" Arielle told him, still frantic as she spilt her efforts between firing on Ghaul from their cover and trying to keep the other Cabal off away from them. "Why did you run out when he was looking right at you!?"

"I was looking for you." Orion winced, catching her hand and firmly pushing the Speaker's Ghost into her palm. "Use this and burn this fucker to hell."

"I can't fucking leave you!" Arielle said, "One good shot and you'll die! Wrex can't revive you without your light... You need me." She insisted.

Orion shook his head weakly as the Ghost shell in their hands stopped glowing and the optic flickered out. "'m ok Babe… I promise…" he wheezed as his arm fell limp to his side.

"Orion…?"

"Rose! Ari! Watch out!" Vlad yelled as Ghaul charged them, a Dawn Blade in hand as he swung at them.

Rose put herself between Arielle, Orion and Ghaul, catching the Dawn Blade against her Arc Staff, forcing Ghaul to focus on her rather than Orion and Arielle. "Fuck off Ugly!"

"I will destroy you!" Ghaul bellowed as flames and Lightning smashed into one another.

"Not if I destroy you first." Rose snarled sweeping the Staff across Ghaul's chest, forcing Ghaul back.

The fire rose up, curling in and around her as rage and worry collided into a storm within her. The flames curled up Arielle's arms and she looked up as her glowing orange eyes were devoured by the fire. Her rage fuelled the fire and spread to her back into large wings. She stood as the weight of her blade sat in her palm and she swung it up with a quiet order of, "Move."

Rose fell to her knees, using the Arc Staff to crack one last painful strike to Ghaul's knee as Arielle's strike cut the air over her, the flames burning so hot that Rose could feel it through her armour as the Warlock swept her Dawn Blade through the air in front of her over and over again with even more force behind each swing as Ghaul staggered back step by step by step with every strike. When she realized that Ghaul's attention was on the Warlock, she rushed to Orion's side.

"Oh, she's pissed," Kuji winced feeling the burning heat as it continued to build and build.

"She's wrecking his shit." Grandpa cheered. "Get 'im girl!"

"Orion!? Come on Buddy don't you fucking die on us now!" Vlad pleaded as he tore the Titan's broken chest armour off his body to show the under armour was just as badly charred, Vlad pressed his palm to Orion's chest, feel for the heart beat with his sensors while Rose removed her cloak and rolled it under Orion's head to brace it, checking Orion's neck for a pulse and smiled in relief.

"He's ok-k-k-k..." Wrex assured weakly as he fizzled out of the helmet, his shell sparking as he fell into Rose's lap. "Stup-p-p-p-pid bas-bastard too stub-b-b-born to die-ie." He added.

"Tell that to Ari." Rose said.

"What is this?!" Ghaul demanded in breathless agony as the flames over took his body and armour.

"You. Killed. My. Titan!" Arielle snarled in rage as the Dawn Blade seemed to draw more and more power from within her. "I will fucking END YOU!" She declared as she threw the Dawn Blade into Ghaul, cutting through the armour and piercing the Cabal's flesh with the heated blade.

Ghaul's bellowing scream of agony echoed as his body crumbled under the Warlock's Blade, the sound clearly what Arielle was waiting on, as she left the blade in his chest to burn away as she fell back to the floor beside Orion even as Grandpa came over to try and help Orion.

"Um, guys!" Kuji yelled suddenly as light erupted from Ghaul's fallen body, surging upwards and forming a giant, Light spectral of Ghaul above the ship and before the caged Traveler.

"Oh, come the fuck on!" Grandpa snarled snatching up his weapon again.

"Traveler! Do you see me now?" Ghaul demanded. "I am immortal! I am a GOD!" he declared turning to the Guardians on his ship. "You have FAILED!" he told them as raw Light dripped and oozed from his spectral form.

"What's happening to the Traveler?" Rose asked suddenly, and all eyes fell on the rapidly forming cracks of Light that suddenly seemed to rip their way along the cage.

"Witness the dawning of a new age!" Ghaul preached before one of the supporting structures of the cage snapped open and fell through his body, burning away into nothing as the cracks grew bigger and wider as Ghaul turned back to look upon the Traveller's now faltering prison.

The Light within the Traveller suddenly burned through the cage before Ghaul, echoing with a familiar chiming sound that made the Ghost shells shake and rattle not in fear but with renewed energy.

"You do see me…?" Ghaul asked in awe and reached out a hand to the Light.

"Hold on to your helmets!" Bing suddenly yelled out as the light grew blindingly bright.

"Nooooooooooooooooooo!" Ghaul bellowed as his Spectral body was swallowed up by the Traveler in mere seconds and then, as if something within were finally smashing it's way free of the shell, the Cabal cage was shattered outwards and from the core of the Traveler came the warmth, the power and the familiar embrace of the Light once again.

It flowed freely and passed through and around the walls of the City, the Cabal ships, and more, it warmed into the bodies of the Guardians and their Ghosts easily and was accepted and welcomed with roared of joy and relief as the Cabal scattered from the area, trying to flee the blinding brilliance as it spread so rapidly and so vastly, soon all of Earth and the Moon were encased.

"Look!" Someone yelled on the Reef and Anna Lee paused to watch as a huge rip of light swam closer and closer to the Reef with unstoppable force and unspoken promise and then it was upon them, passing through and around the Reef and all it held without pause or effort and Anna Lee let it come over her with open arms, feeling the three Sparks of familiar Light flood her veins again and with them three new, sparks that left her giddy and excited.

"Guardian?" Petra asked.

"It's back!" Fang cheered with a dizzying spiral of her shell. "The Light is BACK!"

"Then let's put it to good use, shall we?" Anna Lee suggested nodding to the now scrambling Cabal forces.

Variks felt the light wash over his body and through him easily, leaving his fur on end and him short of breath as Ghosts started to suddenly float around the outpost with renewed life and power and soon, the fallen Guardians who had not been able to return to the fights because of injuries were up and walking again, eagerly rejoicing and cheering as their commlinks rang out with word of the Cabal retreating from earth and the Reef.

The Queen sat still and calm as the light washed through her chamber without warning, Uldren brought his arm up to guard his face against the light whereas the Queen merely closed her eyes and let it pass through her. It was painless, quick and did little more than blow her hair back slightly from her face like a passing breeze, and then it was gone, leaving only a few tantalizing wisps of light in its wake that quickly faded.

She took a breath and focused her mind, reaching out towards Earth and found what she was looking for instantly.

Her Sword and with her, the misplaced Hunter and her teammates, celebrating the victory they had won.

Together.

It had been several weeks, since the defeat of Ghaul and the exile of the Cabal from the City and while the Tower was still in dire need of repairs, the Guardians were now using another area of the Wall as a base of operation, going back and forth between Earth, the Farm, and all the Planets they could reach to clear out the Red Legion groups that had tried to settle in as well as fighting the regular trouble makes like Fallen, Vex and Hive. Ikora had been quick to send some of her best to Io to help Asher Mir and study the Taken activity there in greater detail while Cayde-6 had sent a team to Nessus to help Failsafe, while Zavala sent some forces to Titan to help Sloane to clear out the Hive infestation there. Now that the Light was back, Guardians were eager to fix and repair what had been damaged and fight to avenge those who had been lost during the Red War.

The Faction leaders reappeared after a time, setting up their usual followings with ease, as was expected by most, and after a few days, Lord Saladin and the Iron Lord who had tried so valiantly to protect Felwinter returned to the City to report that their temple had been lost and raised to the ground before the Light had returned to them, but thanks to careful planning and the isolation of the Iron Temple, they had managed to survive. The Guardians who had been stranded on the Reef were soon on their way home as well, though some chose to remain and help to repair the damage done and help clear the Reef of the Red Legion completely.

Zavala was often found by the railings outside the wall, watching over the City below, while Ikora settled herself in the Bazar with Hawthorne while Cayde made himself at home in the flight deck of the Wall.

Orion woke up with a headache from hell, but he woke up and Arielle would have yelled at him for scaring her if not for the fact Orion cut her off by offering her a small box with a weak smile. "Before you kill me for scaring you, will you marry me?"

Needless to say, the news of the engagement spread like wild fire and several debts collected and paid off.

"Well that only took six years," Vlad chuckled after hearing the news from Sovereign as he and Rose sat together, sharing a large bowl of fresh ramen in the Bazar.

"At least it happened." Rose smiled.

"True." Vlad nodded.

"Hey guys," Kuji greeted as he and Grandpa come over with their Ghosts, "You get the news about Orion and Arielle?"

"Yep," Rose nodded, "What're you guys getting them for a gift?"

"I've no idea yet. What can we get them? Orion's got everything he'll ever need and Ari's not one for useless stuff." Grandpa admitted.

"One thing I'd like to know is how the hell are they breaking this news to the Queen and her brother?" Kuji asked and there was a moment silence, just how would the Queen and her brother take this news?

"It'll be fine." Grandpa said with a shrug. "Its not like they'll try and kill him for asking her to marry him, right?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five.

Ripples in the water.

It was late in the evening when Rose found herself sat at the end of a cat walk, watching the active Traveler slowly rotate its broken shards around itself, lazily as the warm light bathed the City beneath in beautiful light and warmth.

It had been an eventful two years since the Red War had come to its end, but it had not been a quiet two years by any stretch of the imagination. Just two months after the war's end Arielle and Orion had officially announced their engagement and Vlad had been off the mark by a few scant seconds before the first message of congratulations from Petra came up with the not so subtle warning that if Orion ever made Arielle unhappy, the Queen's Wrath would be on his ass faster than the Fallen would be on an Ether deposit.

The Vanguard had been happy at the news and it had been Cayde-6 who had personally paid the bill for food at the wedding party, as someone else had offered to help Arielle with the dress and on the actual day of the wedding Arielle had looked perfect. The whole day had passed without interruption, no alarms, not urgent last-minute patrols, not even a stray Ghost to ruin the wedding photos, it had gone so well that Orion swore their luck was because someone, somewhere was having bad luck and he had been proven right as not even a week later one of Ikora's Hidden had brought her something not seen in many, many years.

Sagira, the Ghost of Osiris himself.

She had been badly damaged from a Vex rifle shot and that had led to Anna Lee, Vlad and Rose going off to investigate while Arielle and Orion enjoyed their honeymoon. It had been during that mission Rose had been able to find some answers to questions that lingered about how and why she had been able to travel between the two worlds with the old Warlock's help. Despite the tempering Crota had done to the Vex technology, Osiris had found several over laying sections of Rose's world that were active with Vex, Hive, Fallen, Cabal and Taken activity, though the Taken had been central on Io and Io alone, he had also found that the first 'fall' had not been an accident at all, someone other than the Vex and Hive had caused the first opening appear below Rose and Bing.

The reasons why it had happened were lost to Rose but at least she had some comfort in knowing that the whole event hadn't just been a random mistake of glitching tech, that is hadn't just been random luck that spared her and Bing the Darkness's cruelty and given her the chance to make it right with the shot that had ultimately free her world from the Darkness and give her world a second chance, one that even now was ever changing and ever growing. Osiris had warned that the two worlds over lapping could become a problem if it went unchecked, but Ikora gave her word that she would help monitor the over laying areas for any changes and keep Rose and Osiris informed of any kind of change or increase in activity.

And then after six months of a calm and a steady lull in activities, another Cabal threat arrived in their system, holding at the Nessus and sending an open invitation to the Guardians who had killed Ghaul to attempt to defeat him upon the huge ship he called home, the Leviathan. Perhaps that cockiness had been brought out by the excessive amount of Cabal wine the giant Cabal had been indulging in since Arielle, Orion, Vlad, Kuji, Grandpa and Rose arrived on his ship. After working out how to pass through each of the three 'trial' rooms, filled with more disturbing sights than anyone cared to remember, the six had faced the giant Cabal emperor, finally defeating him with a powerful mixture of their supers.

Defeating him had brought the Cabal threat back to a manageable level, those who could rounded up the pockets of the Red Legion who'd dug their heels in trying to survive on the fringes of the Guardians' reach and either killed them off, or sent them to the Prison of Elders, much to Variks' delight as he claimed the Prison was starting to run low on worthy adversaries for the Guardians that now swarmed the Prison of Elders eager to test their new found Light.

Six weeks later while Arielle, Orion and Vlad had gone for a run in the Prison, Cayde-6 had asked Rose, Kuji and Grandpa if they could spare a few hours of their day to take a trip to Mars for what was meant to be a regular patrol to check on some strange signals and instead the trio had come face to face with Anastasia Bray and her story that with a little help clearing out the Hive, they could speak with the Warmind, Rasputin and help to better protect Humanity and Guardians alike against threats like Ghaul should they ever come again.

Eager to insure that they were never caught off guard at the last minute the way Ghaul had caught them, the trio agreed to help and after clearing out Hive and learning that Rasputin was aware of them and was offering them the use of his weapons the four had fought onward, only to find Commander Zavala waiting for them at the end of the fight and oh the Titan Vanguard had been utterly furious when he met the three Guardians at the entrance of Rasputin with Ana Bray and while the Titan Vanguard had claimed that the Warmind beyond the door would not respond to him, Ana had insisted she could communicate with the Warmind and offered to show them only for Zavala to tell them that Rasputin was not the only being to awaken on Mars now that the Light of the Traveler was active again. It had been an eventful few days and a very hard fight against the second, forgotten son of Oryx, Nokris and the Worm God, Xol.

Now, things had calmed down somewhat and everyone including the newlyweds were back to their usually antics around the System, Rose busying herself with going on patrols, helping with strike runs and going a few rounds in the Crucible and Iron Banner with other Guardians. But she never stopped wondering how and why the Speaker's Ghost, bless its Light, had come to get her when this world needed help and she feared that one day she would wake up and be back in her world, never able to return the world where she felt she belonged. It was a fear that drove her to start researching the Vex in greater detail, more their ability to traverse time and space and their simulations of life and realities to try and uncover more answers.

"You're thinking." Bing said suddenly as he fizzed into life beside her head.

"I am." Rose nodded. "This place feels right Bing, it feels like home should feel, but I know I wasn't revived here, and I wasn't meant to be here when everyone died, but at the same time I'm not even sure why or how the Speaker's Ghost was able to find me and bring me back here again."

"We can always ask Ikora if she can help us figure it out," Bing said with a soft bleep of his systems. "She's always been nice to us and she's smart." He added. "Or maybe the Queen? or the Tech Witches? they tried to help us last time."

"Maybe," Rose agreed. "But for now, I think maybe its best we just enjoy some peace and quiet to ourselves." She said offering her Ghost a smile.

Bing bounced in a nod and then floated down and landed on her head with a happy bleep. "I like that idea."

She knew her brother was not himself.

He had not been himself since her capture, despite her safe return and the subsequent victory over Oryx, and more recently the victory over Ghaul and then Calus, he had slowly worsened, becoming almost unbearably over protective of her during her recovery and even now he was never truly focused on his work, but on her safety and her wellbeing to the point it was too much. Something was wrong and while as a Queen she could not outwardly show her concern for her brother, internally and mental, Mara Sov feared for her brother's safety and what he would do if left unsupervised with nothing to focus his attention on.

She'd watched him closely, given him more tasks to try and keep him focused on other matters, keep his attention on his work and his station in an effort she'd hoped would bring back the brother she loved and for a time, it had worked giving her the hope that just maybe things would return to normal.

Then Arielle had sent word of her engagement to Orion and Mara saw Uldren worsen so quickly that she hadn't been able to grab him back from the edge of whatever dark pit had snared her brother's mind and he had fallen out of her reach. He became distant from her and had been heard speaking to himself, though he claimed when asked that he had been speaking to her even when she had not been with him at the time, he began to question things that should never be questioned and fearing for the safety of her people and for her own safety if left alone with her brother for the first time in her life.

The Awoken Queen acted, imprisoning her brother in the Prison of Elders deep beneath the hordes of Hive, the broken legions of Cabal and the shattered houses of Fallen.

As Queen she had to be strong and the reason for her brother's absence was kept from her people. No one needed to know that her brother was becoming a danger so long as he stayed in his prison. But as Mara Sov, the sister of Uldren, the woman behind the name and title, she wept in the limited privacy of her chamber, truly fearful that for the first time in her life, she was alone and could not confide her fears and worries to the one soul who knew her as truly as she knew herself.

She tried to go on, the Reef needed its Queen and the Queen could not show weakness no matter the losses and trails she faced, but there was no hiding the absence of Uldren from Arielle, nor the slowly rising fear and worry in her own mind and after many hours of discussions over the powerful telepathic link the two shared, Mara had confided in Arielle the truth and her Sword had sworn herself into secrecy on the whole affair.

Arielle was loyal and whenever possible, the Warlock reached out to her Queen and sister, doing all she could from a distance to support Mara. It wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to give Mara comfort, if only for a little while and it helped her to the realization that not everything was as truly calm and peaceful in her Reef as she had hoped it had been.

Action was needed now, before all was lost to corruption.

Arielle was in deep meditation. Orion knew things because of two very important things he had noticed when he entered the room. The first, several candles were lit and placed around the room and the second, the room itself was almost utterly silent.

He nodded to Vakarian, who hovered dutifully at Ari's side as he walked across the room, plating up the stew and dumplings for two that had been left to cook and then settled quietly at the table, watching Ari as she sat cross legged, hands over her knees, and eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply as she spoke with someone far away from Orion's hearing and on a level of telepathy that was far above the Titan's understanding.

Wrex, knowing better than to break the Warlock's concentration, settled on the recharge dock and began his now normal system sweep, making backups of all-important data, purging old data and making space for new.

Arielle had been doing this a lot recently and while she had assured him it was nothing he needed to worry about, it had been rather worrying to come back one night and find she had destroyed their old table and was still angry about whatever had been said to her. Whatever her reasons, Orion had chosen not to pray, if Arielle and the Queen were talking about things they did not wish him to know about, then he would respect that choice and wait for his wife to tell him or leave it and mark it down on his 'whatever will be, will be' list, right underneath the question of what had truly driven Arielle from the Reef she so loved.

Ever since their wedding, Orion had expected to get at least one message from the Prince, but as of yet, it had not happened and the Titan was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing given how close Arielle had once been to the Awoken Prince but instead Orion hadn't gotten one message from the man who had so disliked him from the start. It had been a surprise to receive a delicately written letter of congratulations from Queen Mara Sov herself and a small but beautiful pair of Reef Amethysts as a wedding gift though, and Orion had been grateful that at least one of the two people in Arielle's life she considered family accepted him, even if it was only in the sense she had not objected to the wedding.

Arielle gave a deep sigh and slowly stood and stretched from her position and Orion smiled as he poured them both a drink and pulled the chair out for her. "Busy day?" He asked.

"No more than usual. Ikora wanted me to help some rookies with a mission to clear out the Cabal from the EDZ, found some signs of the usual Fallen scavenging but that's never news." She smiled. "You?"

"Seventeen patrols in one day, most of which were very boring and then we ended up going through the Infinite Forest for Osiris because he was struggling with some simulations, beyond that, nothing really interesting." He admitted.

The lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying the peace of a simple meal and the silent happiness of marriage.

A few days later as the sun slowly rose at the dawning of a new day, Cayde was wondering the wall by himself, stretching his legs as he told Amanda, having been cooped up in the Hanger for so long he needed to get out and go see what was to see on a bright sunny day outside, he'd asked her to feed the chicken if he wasn't back by the time he woke up and then he'd wondered off and found his way into the Bazar, sweet talking the cook into parting with a small tray of fresh made, hot dumplings before he'd made his way up to the higher seating area where two more Hunters were sat enjoying the sun rise and warmth of the day.

"Just the Hunters I wanted to see," he smiled as he planted himself at the table across from Rose and Vlad were occupying, Rose cleaning the Hawkmoon while Vlad looked over Thorn. "Busy with anything today?"

"Nope." Vlad smiled, stabbing a pair of the dumplings from the tray with a wooded skewer and offered one to Rose. "What's up Cayde?"

"I need a pair of very helpful, very good at sneaking around, Guardians to help me with a little tiny favor I owe Petra." The Exo hunter explained with a chuckle as the two holstered their hand cannons. "Up for it?"

"Are you allowed to leave the Tower now?" Bing asked.

"As long as I am supervised," Cayde assured, while Watson shook his shell in a no fashion.

"Then we better go before Zavala yells at us." Vlad suggested.

Cayde-6 nodded and together the three Hunters left the City without anyone noticing. "So, what's happened on the Reef?" Rose asked.

~ "Petra's gonna brief us when we get there but from what she told me, we have an issue in the Prison." ~ Cayde said. ~ "We help her contain it and we get a nice set a loot from our friendly Vandal friend and maybe even one of those stories you like so much kid." ~ He added, using the familiar nick name as they flew through the stars. ~ "How goes your hunt for answers by the by?" ~

"Slowly, I'm not sure I'll find the answers here in the City anymore, so I might have to go looking for answers elsewhere." Rose admitted, "I'm thinking of asking Ikora for a bit more help with my research, but she's been so busy lately I don't want to bother her."

The Hunter Vanguard chuckled, ~ "You know she'd drop everything to try and help you kid, she adores you and Bing as much as she does Arielle and the rest of her best students." ~

"Really?" Bing asked.

~ "Well, you are loveable." ~ Vlad reminded.

~ "Not cute?" ~ Cayde asked and then winced as his commlink blared with the sound of an air horn. ~ "Whao! What the blazes was that!?" ~

"I am NOT CUTE!" Bing declared. "And anyone who says I am gets their ears blown out."

Rose chuckled. "Sorry Cayde."

~ "Nah, no harm done, just make sure I'm there is anyone else gets an ear full of air horn," ~ he smiled in good nature.

"Coming up on the Reef." Vlad stated as their ships flew into formation. "They've moved the Prison structure?"

~ "Questions and reasons later." ~ Cayde reminded as he took the lead. ~ "Let's get to work kiddies." ~

"Anyone seen Rose and Vlad this morning?" Orion asked as he passed by Banshee-44's stall.

"Not since they went to get breakfast," The gunsmith said as he carefully worked on a damaged rocket launcher. "Love birds have been stuck to each other since the Warmind woke up." He added.

"Young love." Grandpa smiled as he debated a few upgraded on offer. "You and Arielle need a third for a mission or something?"

"We were planning a run in the Crucible with them, but if they aren't here, we'll see how it goes with some of the newbies." Orion smiled.

"Let me get things settled here and I'll join you." The Exo Titan smiled.

"Ikora have you seen Vlad and Rose today?" Arielle asked her mentor as she passed the human woman in her search for the hunter.

"They were up at the table's earlier with Cayde according to the Raman shop owner, but I haven't seen them yet." Ikora said.

"Cayde's not in the hanger." Arielle and Ikora turned to see Kuji coming over, his Ghost hovering at his shoulder. "I went to update him on Failsafe and Amanda said he left this morning to stretch his legs and hadn't come back yet."

"Cayde's off the Wall?" The younger Warlock asked looking at Ikora who had begun to type on a tablet for a moment. "Ikora?"

"Just a minute." Ikora pleaded looking through her pad and then paused. "Cayde's gone to the Reef to help Petra Venj with somethings according to this note he's left for me and Zavala," she explained.

"Alone?" Vakarian asked. "Is that wise?"

"He likely took Rose and Vlad with him, given no one can seem to find them." Ikora reminded with a small smile, "I'm sure that they can keep him out of any trouble he might find."

"As long as they are watching their shots and not distracted with each other's score." Val joked from his place at Kuji's shoulder.

"Needing help with something?" The human Hunter asked Arielle.

"Crucible." She said simply and Kuji smiled brightly.

The entire Prison shook with the force of an explosion, enough to make Vlad lose his footing for a moment.

~ "WHAO!" ~ Cayde called over the comms. ~ "Whose blowing up stuff without me?" ~

~ "I'm gonna get eyes on that explosion, you three join me when you can." ~ Petra stated. ~ "The faster the better. That blast knocked a few more cellblocks open." ~

"We're coming Petra." Rose assured, ducking under a beam and blowing the head of a dreg off easily with the Hawkmoon as Vlad checked the stability of their path ahead. "Safe?" she asked.

"As it's gonna be." Vlad nodded carefully making his way out on to the shaky cat walks, making sure it was safe to keep going until they reached a door way that groaned open to show Petra as she yanked her knife out of a Vandal's neck.

"I love fieldwork." Petra smiled. "But that explosion knocked out security on the lower decks."

"So, what's the plan?" Vlad asked as he reloaded his weapons.

"I'll check the high-value prisoners down there, you and Cayde head to the security hub and get the security back online." Petra said.

~ "Ok kids this crowd isn't gonna let us just stroll into the security hub of this place." ~ Cayde stated over the commlinks.

"You go high, we'll go low." Rose smiled as they headed out, shooting at the escaped prisoners as they went, watching Cayde take own a giant Knight with a triple shot from his Golden Gun on a catwalk ahead of them.

"Having fun?" Vlad chuckled.

"I'm having the time of my life," Cayde stated tossing a grenade over his shoulder that exploded shortly after words, taking out several Cabal in one toss. "Race ya!" He challenged as he took off into the masses of cells again.

"And he says I'm excitable about this kinda thing." Vlad chuckled as they moved on, trading banter with Cayde and Petra as they went deeper into the Prison levels, sharing a laugh as Cayde counted off a few kills only to be shown up by Petra who called out triple that amount.

Rose and Vlad skidded toa stop after having shot their way through a group of cell block D and C escapees in time to see Cayde get the drop on a Cabal Infiltrator, only for the staggering Cabal to fall backwards of the end of the ledge. "Whao! Whao! This was not part of the PLAAAAAN!"

"Cayde!?" Bing called as Rose and Vlad looked over the edge to watch in relief and amusement as Cayde was carried back up by a very noisy Shank.

"Scratch that! Definitely part of the plan!" Cayde chuckled as the Shank tried to shake him off. "Meet ya at the security hub." He assured as the shake flew off with him still handing on. "Go left! Left! Your other left!" he yelled at the Shank as it continued to try and dislodge him, giving a very rude whistle and series of clicks, making Bing laugh.

"It said Cayde was bossy like a Variks." The Ghost explained and Rose and Vlad had to force themselves not to break out into a fit of laughter at the thought as they moved on, taking down a Hive Ogre and a small cluster of escaped prisoners before Cayde was at last able to get the security system back online and also found the manual controls of the Prison's turrets to clear a path to a second access terminal on the cat walks.

~ "You in the clear now PV?" ~ Cayde asked.

~ "Just got to check a couple of things, then we'll call it a day." ~ Petra assured.

~ "As long as you are the one buying." ~ Cayde smiled as he looked down into the pit of the prison below the ruins of what had once been the security hub. "Funs over kids, Ramon's on me when we get back." He called out to Vlad and Rose as they two reloaded and checked their weapons.

"Where's Variks?" Rose asked, realizing that they had not yet heard or seen the Vandal since arrival.

The Crucible had been fun, but truthfully, they hadn't been trying to win as many matches as they had but the apparent cockiness of having new light and new abilities was still abundant and some guardians had forgotten that showboating wasn't a good idea when you still had five guardians on the enemy team running around ready to avenge their fallen comrade.

Now, Arielle planned on talking with Mara about something that had been bothering her lately, a strange reoccurring dream that she couldn't understand, so she lit the candles in her room and assumed her normal meditation pose before beginning her breathing, choosing to focus on the soft hum of the room around her, reaching out slowly towards that place in her mind only she and Mara knew how to utilize in this way.

Normally, Mara was already here at this time, waiting for her, but not today and so Arielle reached further, searching out the familiar blueish light that was Mara in this place, but there was no sign of her. But no matter what she did or how far she searched in this metal plain, she couldn't find the Queen's mind or even a trace that she was on the Reef at all. It made an unpleasant feeling of worry creep into Arielle's stomach.

She pushed that feeling down as she turned to her Ghost. "Vakarian, open privet channels to the Reef." She requested in a calm tone and her Ghost bounced in a nod, taking a few minutes to open the requested channels and lock into the correct line, only to emit static and white noise. "What?"

"I'm not sure, the channel's right and the signal is good, just a moment I'll see what I can do." Her ghost said as he ran a few quick system checks, only to find further static even after attempting a reconnection. "It's not our end."

"Something's not right." Arielle stated, feeling that worry slowly creep deeper into her body. "Call Vlad and Rose." She requested, feeling time start to crawl suddenly as she watched Vakarian hover before her, searching for the requested channels.

"I can't get through to them either." Vakarian said grimly. "Ari?" He asked as he was cupped in her hand and then brought into her armour. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to speak with Ikora." Arielle stated firmly as she raced from the room, the candles seeming to blow themselves out as she left.

Petra released the locks on the cell door she'd stopped by, slowly taking measured steps as she entered the mist filled room, the mist having a slightly bitter taste to it as she slowly walked through the room, shining her flash light into the empty pods as she went.

Then she stopped, seeing the final cell in the room, was empty. "Cayde! He's gone!" She called out into the comms. "It's not a riot! It's a Prison Break!" She added with a hiss as she spotted a familiar green cloak, stained with the blood of the body it covered, there was a flicker of movement a sign of life that Petra couldn't ignore. "There is an airlock on deck zero, it's the only way out this far down! They're going to escape!" She warned, moving to help the injured Warden.

~ "Not if I get there first." ~ Cayde said.

"What's going on?!" Rose asked as the prison echoed with several sudden gunshots seconds before the catwalk she and Vlad were stood on fell lose and sent them, debris and the central platform structure plummeting down into the prison depths. "AHHH!"

"Cayde?" Petra called out, running to try and see what the shots had been and watched in shock as the Hunter Vanguard gave her a salute with his hand cannon as he rode the falling wreckage down into the darkness of the prison below, vanishing in the resulting explosion of impact. "CAYDE!"

"Vanguard fool." Variks hissed weakly. "Go... help Guardians. Variks will survive… Judgement will survive." He assured.

Meanwhile, deep below the smoking ruins of the control hub, a warm burst of light washed over the Hunter Vanguard's body and forced his systems to start back up again. "Idiot. Utter and complete Idiot. You KNOW you're as bad as a child?" Watson scalded lightly.

"Yep, but I've never felt better." Cayde assured, checking to make sure his face and horn were not damaged or scuffed before picking up his hand cannon and catching Watson in his palm. "You see that Petra?" he asked.

Silence.

"Petra? Vlad? Rose?" he tried again.

"You knocked out the comms with that spectacular landing." Watson remarked. "Company, all sides." He added in warning as Cayde saw several familiar and fully armed large Barron's around him.

"And cue the ominous music." He said realizing he was surrounded. "Alright everyone, back in your cages." He said, on that off chance that they might listen.

The heavy, echoing thud of a staff hitting the ground and the growing hiss of foes charging him told him that request was not going to be answered without force.

"I said. Back in your cages." He repeated with a firmer tone before falling into the familiar steps of fighting this new foe, never staying in one place as the smaller, weaker minions of the Barons swarmed him, they fell dead only because he made sure his shots hit their heads, causing massive damage with each shot, rigging his trip mine grenade on a broken bridge support.

He did a quick head count, seeing eight Barons still in sight and he went back to the fight at hand, praying that he had enough spare ammo to get through this until back up showed up.

"Rose? Rose!"

"Rose?"

"Ow…" the Awoken hunter groaned as she felt light flood into her aching body. "Oh, that smarts." She winced as Vlad helped her back to her feet, Bing giving a relieved string of whistles and bleeps rather than speaking as he fed light into her body. "What happened?"

"We fell at least twenty floors down, Comms are out and we got no idea which was is out." Vlad said as Sovereign fixed his still sparking shoulders fully as Bing settled into Rose's welcome palm. "Ready to go find Cayde?"

"Sure, he owes us for that fall, and he promised us Ramon." Rose nodded, following Vlad's lead as they travelled deeper int the Prison. "Who knew this place was so big? I always though Variks was joking when he said the prison was so big."

"What did you think happened to all those forces that were captured rather than killed?" Vlad asked.

"I had no idea, but I never thought there were this many." She admitted looking at one of the open cells, "Wait a minute." She said looking at a small Ether pool on the floor. "There's something wrong with this Ether."

"Wrong?" Vlad asked looking at the small pool, looking over the readings Sovereign showed him. "I've never seen these readings before."

"Maybe it's a contaminated?" Bing offered.

"Maybe." Rose nodded, "Let's find Cayde and get out of here, this place is starting to creep me out." She added.

"I'm with her." Sovereign agreed, "The readings I get down here are all wrong it says we are surrounded by Fallen but they look nothing like the Fallen we know."

"Rose's kind of Fallen?" Vlad asked his ghost, meaning the larger, more aggressive Fallen that had come from Rose's world.

"No. They are from this place, but they are different." Sovereign explained.

"We'll ask Variks about it later." Vlad said as they moved on.

Movement ahead of them and to the left caught Rose's eye moments before a loud explosion rocked the room they had come to and watched as a group of lumbering creatures with flaming flails destroyed a small servitor that had been left lying on the ground of the room before turning on them with a monstrous growl.

"What ARE these things?!" Rose yelled over the gunshots as she and Vlad unloaded their Hand cannons into them.

"No clue!" Vlad answered, kicking one away from them and using his knife to slit the throat of another. "They sure as hell don't look like Fallen."

"They are, just changed." Bing said, "Their basic scans list them as Fallen but I don't know what made them look like this…"

"The Ether?" Rose suggested as they made their way deeper, carefully making their way further into the prison. "Do you think Variks knows about this?"

"We'll ask him later. When we are all out of this shitstorm." Vlad said as he led the way through the shaking confines of a vent shaft after they came upon a door that was fused shut.

Something scurried across the floor of the vent ahead of them, with several blue bulbs on its back, trailing a blueish gray mist behind it.

"That looked like a Thrall." Rose said.

"Scans said it was a Dreg… or rather, it was once." Sovereign explained as they moved on, slowly and quietly as they came to a large room filled with pipes and more of the strange crawling forms of the former Dreg like creatures, all of them crawling around with painful looking blue bulbs on their backs. "They look like the cursed Thrall."

"Let's see if they go bang the same way they do." Vlad said as he levelled a shot at the middle of the group and fired, Rose ducked her head as the room rocked with the multiple resulting explosions. "Let's go."

"There's activities below us," Sovereign stated as they reached a room where a large fan had stopped working and stopped as a burst of light washed over them, leaving them chilled to the core.

"No!" Bing whined.

Vlad hissed and snatched his Void bow from the air, releasing shadow shots in to the giant foe in the way of the door while Rose spun her Arc staff rapidly and charged at the tethered bodies in her path, striking every one of them harder than the last before jumping back to avoid the ground slamming punch from the largest enemy, staying low as Vlad fired his hand cannon into the thing's chest and she grabbed her the rocket launcher from her back and fired at the giant's chest.

"I'm comin' home, Ace." He wheezed as his systems bombarded him with warnings of both internal and external damages. He wasn't surprised that the shot hadn't killed him instantly, the Prince had likely never fired a hand cannon in his life, let alone one that was customized and worn down from years of use, so the force of firing the shot would have thrown the aim off to the left slightly, this leading to his current situation.

The beating he'd taken from the Scorn Barons had completely shattered several of his internal systems, his body was showing him warnings he knew he couldn't fix, not without Watson's help and Watson was already safely wrapped in the Traveler's warmth again, protected from any more pain.

Lucky little guy.

He could hear Uldren walking away, but he couldn't feel any pain, which shocked him just a little, he'd had Hand Cannon's take him out before and it had always hurt, but this time it didn't, the lingering pain of the impact was numb in fact as was most of his body, sparing him the pains of his injuries as the Light slowly ebbed away from him.

He could feel himself slipping away and so he waited, waiting for the light to finally leave his body and release him to the final death, to finally find his way to where he could just sit down in the warm sunlight and watch over his son and wife in that little garden they'd had, filled with little wild flowers and the huge old trees Ace so loved to climb in and he could just be Cayde again…

"Cayde!?"

Vlad. Late. As usual. But really he couldn't blame Vlad for this.

"You?!"

And there's Rose. Arielle's gonna be pissed when she finds out about all this.

"Don't worry." His killer assured softly, "He didn't feel a thing."

"Bastard!" Vlad snarled as six shots echoed out, pinging off the locked air lock door. "Fuck!"

"Cayde? Cayde can you hear me?" Rose asked as she came into his field of vision, a blurry mess of colour at first and then a familiar helmeted head and Queen's mark pink cloak as she tried to get a response from him. "Cayde-6?"

"I'm-I'm here." He assured weakly, slowly lifting a hand up to point at his own head. "How's-how's my hair?" He asked with a shaky smile.

"Cayde…" Rose shook her head. "We'll get you help Cayde. Just hang on." She pleaded as Bing tried to find some way to help Cayde.

"Typical…" Cayde tried to chuckle, only for the sound to come out broken and static filled as his body struggled to stabilize itself without Light.

Vlad silently released Sovereign as he knelt beside the Vanguard.

"Oh no…" the Ghost said as he looked over the injuries with Bing. "There is nothing we can-"

"Listen kids." Cayde said cutting Sovereign off softly as he looked between Rose and Vlad. "This… this is not on you." He wheezed heavily. "This- is what I get for… playing nice." He told them, before his breathing became laboured and weakened.

"Cayde…" Rose pleaded, trying to find something, anything that would help him.

"You… you tell- Za-Zavala and Ikora… the Vanguard… is the best bet… I ever… lost…" Cayde requested before the lights of his optics went out for the last time.

Vlad snatched up his gun at the sound of running coming towards them, watching Petra as she reached them, only for the Awoken woman to stop in her tracks and take in the scene before her. Cayde-6 lay on the floor, broken and beaten, Rose, knelt at the Vanguard's side, her head bowed as she struggled to keep from sobbing as Bing and Sovereign fizzled into the safety of their Guardians' armours.

"No…" She breathed realizing what had happened.

"Start talking." Vlad told her firmly, his voice holding both anger and sorrow.

The news of Cayde's death shattered the peace that had been relished on the wall.

No one wanted to believe it, but as Rose and Vlad's ships returned from the Reef, towing Cayde's ship behind them and the broken body of the Hunter Vanguard was brought from Vlad's ship, the horrible truth that he was truly gone broke many Guardians hold on their emotions.

Some went to hunt even without bounties or orders to find the escaped Prisoners, others were angry, unable to focus on anything but the loss of the Hunter Vanguard who'd so easily won so many friends.

Arielle, Orion, Kuji and Grandpa had been there to meet them and help carry Cayde to the medical room, though everyone knew Cayde would not come back to them, there were others who had yet to pay respect to the Vanguard Hunter and so, he would be placed in a privet room, away from others where people could come and bid him one last goodbye before he was laid to rest in the Tower Vaults, beside his fellow Vanguards.

Now Arielle knelt by Rose, trying to offer the younger Awoken some comfort Vlad gave their report to Zavala and Ikora in her stead, Rose having not been able to face the loss of the Vanguard for what for her was a second time. She was huddled in the corner of the room, tears falling freely as she hugged her knees to her chest as Bing sat on her shoulder, resting against her head silently.

The whole scale of the situation had been brought to light by Petra, who had explained via her written report that Queen Mara Sov had left suddenly a few days before, leaving her with strict orders to follow and Petra had done just that to the very best of her ability, maintaining the illusion that all was well on the Reef until somehow, the Prison had been breached and Variks had called on Petra for help containing the situation before it got out of hand.

Sadly, it had become too much for the two of them faster than they had thought and when Petra had lost contact with Variks who had been going to make sure the lowest levels had not been breached, Petra had taken up Cayde's offer for help and this had been the reason Cayde had brought her and Vlad along, the Vanguard had also not been aware of just how big the situation had been.

The Scorn, as Petra's report explained, were revived Fallen, resurrected from death by the Baron leader, the Fanatic everyone had believed dead until his capture and imprisonment along side the rest of his fellow Scorn Barons, though it seemed now that the Fanatic and his Barons were working with the Prince and while Petra had known that Uldren was not soundly in his own mind, she hadn't known that he was working with the Barons or that he was so far gone that he would murder Cayde.

And now…

"He had the worst jokes." Ikora said as she, Vlad and Zavala arrived, "even worse timing, I wanted to laugh." She added as she stepped up to the side of the sheet covering Cayde's body. "I really did, and he always knew it."

Vlad shook his head, "He always knew what to say and when to say it."

"Are you sure Uldren did this?" Arielle asked bringing Rose out of her thoughts as the Warlock stood. "It couldn't have been someone else masquerading as him? Maybe someone from Rose's world?"

"I'm telling you what we saw Arielle," Vlad hissed as he turned to look at the Warlock. "He and I don't see eye to eye, we never have and everyone knows it, but I wouldn't lie about this. Uldren Sov had the Ace of Spaces in his hand, he laughed about Cayde not feeling a thing and he left with the Scorn Barons."

"But-"

"I have the image." Sovereign stated. "And a full report from Petra."

"Show me." Arielle requested and looked over the image that was sent to her from the hunter's ghost. Eight Scorn Barons, and there in front of all of them, smirking and holding Cayde's hand cannon, was the Awoken Prince.

It made her stomach turn, but at the same time, there had to be a reason for this blatant betrayal, this act that Uldren must have known would bring down the wrath of the Guardians on his head and at the same time, another feeling, a familiar feeling of anger drove her on as she read through Petra's report.

"Why didn't she just damn well TELL me?! I am her Sword I should have been told about all of this!" She snarled as she began to pace tightly in the small room.

"Guardians never made it to the Reef in my world." All eyes fell on Rose at that statement, her voice was weak and her eyes red from tears, but she was slowly getting to her feet as Bing slowly hovered up beside her. "It was impossible for Earth Born Awoken to get past the Outpost, despite our willingness to help or serve the Queen, she never opened the Reef to the Earth Born. My world's Uldren wouldn't know Cayde-6 from any other Exo, he wouldn't know Zavala or Ikora from anyone else. My world's Uldren didn't do this." She stated as she at last reached her feet.

"Rose?" Arielle asked, moving to help the shaking Hunter as she stumbled slightly only to stop when Rose shrugged her off.

"You know him better than anyone else in the room." Rose said looking at the Warlock as if she could somehow give them all the answers to the questions. "Why would he do this? After everything that's happened, everything we did to bring the Queen back when Oryx took her, the efforts we shared to fight the Red War… Why would he do this?" she asked again, though there was something bitter in her tone, a painful accusation that stung Arielle more than she'd thought it would.

"I…" What could she say? She truly didn't have the answers, not even the faintest reason or possible understanding of what could have caused Uldren to betray the unspoken trust between her friends and himself. She couldn't think of anything Cayde or anyone could have done or said that would drive Uldren to this. "I don't know, but there has to be a reason. Something else has to be going on."

"This isn't your fault." Ikora assured softly, "This, is on the head of Uldren Sov and if he things what he has done is the end, it's not." She went on, "It's the beginning. We're going to fight him."

"Ikora?" Arielle asked in shock.

"Now we're talking." Vlad stated.

"Do you hear me?" Ikora asked Zavala, who had so far been silent as he looked at the sheet covered Vanguard before them, ignoring the Guardians for the moment. "All of us, every Titan, Warlock and Hunter, we will take the Reef by storm. And then, we will mount the head of that son of a bitch, on his precious throne. For our fire team…"

"For Cayde." Vlad agreed.

"No."

All eyes fell on Zavala.

"What did you say?" Ikora asked in shock.

"We are not an army. We are not conquerors. We are Guardians." Zavala reminded as he looked at Vlad, Rose and Arielle then slowly walked his way around the sheet covered body. "We need to keep our eyes here. On our home, our city. The Traveler."

"So, you're going to let that bastard get away with what he's done to Cayde-6?" Vlad snarled. "That's bullshit, and you know it!"

"The Reef was lost to us the moment it lost its Queen. So if another Sov wants a stretch of lifeless rocks, let him have it." Zavala stated firmly. "We don't know the reasons behind this madness, and if Uldren is not threatening our home, our people and our ways, we shall leave him to do as he pleased in his own home."

"This is Cayde we're talking about." Ikora reminded, "For us to do nothing is…" she stopped, hesitant to say anything.

"Cowardice." Vlad spat. "He wouldn't sit back and do nothing if either of you were under that sheet."

"Zavala we have to do something!" Rose pleaded, "Cayde promised to look after the Vanguard after Andal died, now you want to do nothing to repay that promise? That goes against everything Hunters stand for!"

Zavala looked down at the sheet, gently placing his hand over the smaller shape that was Cayde's. "I refuse to bury any more friends."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"You don't have too." Arielle looked at Vlad as the hunter stepped away from them, red optics burning bright with rage. "Stay here and hide. Pretend that you can sleep at night, Commander." He spat the title as he left.

"Vlad you can't just go off alone!" Arielle remarked as she followed the Hunter. "There has to be a reason for this Vlad, and if you just go off and kill him-"

"Stay out of my way Arielle, you may have a soft spot of the prince, but I don't." Vlad snarled, forcing himself not to push Arielle out of his way. "Do what you have to do to feel better, but Uldren Sov is mine."

"Vlad listen to me-" Arielle tried to reason only for the Hunter to push her aside with a harsh growl. "Vladamir-66!"

"No Arielle." Vlad snarled, "You don't get to play the soft card with me, not about this! You're ex did this to Cayde and instead of trusting us, you try and find some loop hole to save his worthless ass, you even blamed it on some twisted version of him that might have come from Rose's world!"

"That's not a far reach and you know it!" Arielle defiantly defended, "We don't know the whole truth Vlad, we can't just go and kill someone because we feel like it!" she reminded.

"He murdered Cayde. That's reason enough!" Vlad snarled as the two stood their ground.

"Stop it!" Rose suddenly bellowed at them as she shoved them apart. "This is not the place to argue who is right and wrong. And it isn't the place to toss blame around just to make you feel better!" she snapped and then turned to Vlad. "Go cool off."

"Fine by me." Vlad hissed with a parting glare at Arielle before he vanished down the hall way.

"Rose I-" the warlock tried to explain, but Rose only shook her head and left Arielle with her head bowed, unable to meet the Warlock's gaze as she headed for the dorm rooms.

"Ikora," Arielle began.

"We will talk about it later." The Warlock mentor assured, silently waving the younger Warlock away. "This is not the place. Nor is it the time."

With a heavy weight on her shoulders and a few choice words she wanted to say to Petra, Arielle left the room with a burning heat flowing through her veins and made her way to her and Orion's shared room, finding it dark safe the light from the living room lamp, Orion himself lay on the bed in the master bedroom, sleeping as Wrex sat on his recharge dock, his optic dull as he ran though some system updates and defrag programs.

She nodded to herself and quietly closed the door to the bedroom and then closed herself in the smaller spare bedroom in hopes of at least giving her husband chance to sleep. "Vakarian, open comm channel to Petra Venj." She said in a sharper tone that she meant to use with her Ghost, but he said nothing of it and instead did as she had requested.

~ "I had thought you'd call sooner." ~ Petra admitted on the other end of the line once the connection was made.

"You should have told me what was going on. Damn what the Queen orders were, Damn what you thought was best because of my wedding. YOU should have told me!" Arielle all but screamed by the end of that statement but forced herself to lower her voice and attempt to keep the control in her tone, not just to keep herself calm, but also spare Orion hearing her having an argument with Petra over the comms. "You send a report with Vlad and then you run off, so help me Petra I'll hunt you down myself if you don't start explaining this mess right now." She warned.

~ "You may be the Queen's Sword, Arielle but you haven't been here to see what Uldren has done. What he has allowed the Barons to do." ~

"Then stop dodging the issue and tell me what the fuck is going on." Arielle hissed.

~ "Uldren has lost his mind is what's happened Arielle. He's been talking as if the Queen were stood beside him speaking aloud when she is not, he began to act as if the Queen wasn't there at all when they were in the same room and he refused to listen to reason. We had no choice but to lock him away." ~ Petra explained.

"Where is the Queen?" Arielle asked, the question having nagged at her since news of Cayde's death reached her. "Why wasn't she there?"

~ "I don't know where she is," ~ The Queen's Wrath told her. ~ "She was gone when I awoke up one morning, no one knew where she was, all she left was a recorded message containing orders for me to keep the Reef safe." ~

"You failed at that." Arielle snapped harshly, "What has happened to Uldren?"

~ "He's gone completely insane." ~ Petra stated with equal harshness. ~ "He-" ~

"What caused this?" Arielle asked. "Why would he do this? Why attack the Guardians at all? Why kill Cayde when Cayde did nothing to him?"

~ "He's MAD Arielle." ~ Petra repeated, stressing the word 'mad' with venom in her tone. ~ "He has no sense of remorse, of empathy, all he cares about is whatever it is whispering in to his ear and he is doing whatever he pleases. He claimed Mara's throne and killed every Awoke who agreed to kneel to him when he took the throne of the Reef and those who fled are being hunted by his Crows if the Scorn hasn't already found them." ~

"Where is he now?" Arielle asked.

~ "If I knew the answer to that, I'd be on his trail now." ~ Petra growled. ~ "Cayde didn't deserve the death he got, and if you aren't going to help me stop him, then maybe you need to rethink your priorities." ~ And with that the line cut off.

Arielle fumed, lightning dancing up and down her arms and all over her body, so much so that Vakarian made himself scares as flames also began to flicker and lick around Arielle's finger tips. How dare Petra say that! How dare the Queen's Wrath insinuate that Arielle, the Sword of the Queen, the might that had slain countless foes of the Reef for years before she became the Guardians she was today didn't know where her priorities lay. How dare she!

They had always had their arguments, more so after Arielle had left the Reef caused mostly by their differing understanding of loyalty. Petra's idea of Loyalty were once similar to Arielle's, but the Warlock had learnt a harsh lesson when she'd discovered the plot Mara and Uldren had made for her and thus, where Petra pledged her devotion and life to the Queen without questioning everything that was said or done around her, Arielle asked questions and sought reasons for the tasks set before her by the Queen.

And it had proven to be a valuable lesson, during the Taken War, Arielle had been named Queen of the Reef for a brief time at Mara's request despite Arielle's clear and repeated refusals to accept that she could fill such a role. It had been clear during those few days that Arielle could lead, but she despised the role and no one on the Reef could say that they had not heard Arielle's anger when Uldren was brought back to the Reef by Orion and Vlad before the Queen had been rescued.

The talk with the Queen after her return had, if Arielle was honest with herself, been her attempt to convince the Queen Arielle was not willing to suffer such a burden again as the Warlock believed she was not the right fit for the role of a Queen, not because she was bad at leading others, but because she felt that taking the role of Queen of the Awoken would mean replacing Mara. She had after all this time, thought that Mara had taken her words to heart and chosen to leave Arielle out of her plans for the future of the Reef.

The last year had been free of any kind of plan or hidden twist to any of her trips to the Reef, Mara and Uldren had seemed so calm and so normal around her that she hadn't even realized just how bad things really were and now that the truth was out it shook Arielle to the very core. This was completely out of character for both Uldren and Mara that it left Arielle's head reeling with questions that she couldn't answer. Why would she leave Uldren alone and not tell Arielle what was going on? Why keep the severity of the situation a secrete and why, WHY didn't Mara allow her to know the whole truth and facts behind this maddening situation? Why had she been cut out?

Did Mara no longer consider her loyal? The thought came to Arielle so suddenly and hit so hard it left Arielle's body ice cold despite her boiling anger as the air in the room burned and cackled angrily.

A knock on the door broke Arielle from her thoughts suddenly as the door was pushed open.

"What!?"

Orion just stood there in the door way as Arielle glared at him, he was clearly unrested and there was a heavy air of defeat around him, but still he stood there at the door with a small cup of steaming liquid in one hand held out to her in offering.

"What do you want?" She repeated with less aggression when she realized he was waiting for her to calm down.

"I heard you shouting, made you some tea." He explained and nodded to the cub in his hand.

"I don't want it." Arielle snapped. "I want answers damn it. I want to know why she didn't tell me. Why I wasn't contacted about any of this! Why he's doing this… I want answers!" she yelled as Orion moved to let her walk out of the room and begin pacing the living area, the sparking embers of her Light still burning and dancing strongly around her as she moved. "I've known them both my entire life Orion, MY ENTIRE LIFE! And yet they told me nothing! Mara just locks Uldren away and then she leaves without a word. And Petra! Oh she just had the nerve to say that I had my priorities wrong because I want to know what has made him like this! He wouldn't do this Orion, Not the Uldren I know! He just wouldn't! No matter what happened he would never kill someone close to me."

"But he did." Orion stated. "Vlad and Rose saw it, Bing and Sovereign felt Watson die. They wouldn't make this up Ari, no matter how much Vlad and Uldren hated each other, Vlad wouldn't lie about what he saw. And Rose? Do you really think that she could lie about this? After she watched her world die while she was here with us?"

"Don't try and quite trip me." Arielle hissed. "Something's wrong, this whole situation is wrong! Uldren wouldn't do this, not the Uldren I know. it has to be the Uldren from Roses world, or something!"

"People change Ari." Orion reminded softly setting the cup down.

"Not him." Arielle asserted firmly.

"I'm trying to talk reason babe." Orion said raising his hands in defence when she glared at him. "I'm not trying to defend or prosecute the guy Arielle, but please hear me out. From what I know of Uldren personally and what I have witnessed the few times we have worked with him, I know that he hates Guardians from the instant he looks at us. He's never liked me and we both know he and Vlad would sooner kill each other than sit in the same room together but aside from that, when you strip it all back to the bare bone and look at him as a person I know that he's loyal to his sister first and foremost and I know that while he isn't always the nicest person to be around, he is clever and cunning."

Arielle huffed and shook her head. "He is the Queen's Shield, it's his job to protect the Queen at all costs, to see the dangers before they arise and block them from at every turn. He is her protector where I am her weapon. I should have been informed of all of this. I could have helped if I had known!"

"How?" Orion asked, "I know you were close to them before you left the Reef, but things change over the years and sometimes the people we love change without us seeing it happen. We don't see the differences even when they are staring us right in the face because we don't want to accept it."

"But it makes no sense! None of this makes any kind of sense!" Arielle snarled running her hands through her hair in frustration. "It has to be a mistake or… Or something!" She insisted as a heavy sigh shook her body, her voice quiet, "The Uldren I know would never do this."

Orion sighed softly, clearly this line of talk wasn't going anywhere fast and it was not helping Arielle release the quickly building fury and so, he changed the subject for a moment trying at the very least to give Arielle an escape from her thoughts and torments about Uldren and the matter at hand if only briefly. "It's been a long day. Please, for now why don't you lie down and rest? I'll wake you up if something comes up."

"Sleep won't help me." Arielle stated.

"Then at least stop pacing and eat something?" Orion insisted with a bit more force in his words, he knew Arielle could just chose to ignore him, but he also knew that she needed to eat and rest or she would get herself too worked up to focus on anything and end up hurting herself or others around her. "You're no help to yourself or anyone else if you don't look after yourself." He reminded.

It took a few minutes for Arielle to stop pacing and agree to eat something, but it wasn't enough to stop her own internal thoughts waring with one another.

Petra had to know more than she was saying, loyal even when it could get her killed, the Queen's Wrath would never break the orders given to her by Mara, even if those orders were hard to stomach as she had proven during the Taken War. Now again, Mara was off doing something, something that Arielle could have helped her do if that woman, that damn stubborn woman had just told her! But no, Mara had to do everything her own way first, had to go off and try to save everything about the Reef on her own and forget that she had someone willing to help her if she would only ask.

And Uldren. Stupid Uldren! How could he do this?! What possible reason could drive the Prince to murder the Vanguard? He must have known such an action would bring the Guardians down on him, Arielle had made it clear from the very beginning of her time on the Reef so long ago that if the Vanguard was threatened the Guardians would seek blood, and no wall, no barrier and no witches would keep them away for long.

But what in the universe could drive Uldren to this? What motive did he have for releasing the Scorn Barons and killing Cayde? And what of this insanity Petra had spoken of? Was it really insanity or was someone else pulling the strings of this whole situation? There had to be some explanation for it all that could explain why Uldren had done this, it wouldn't justify Uldren's killing of Cayde, not in any way but it would explain why he had done this.

She just had to find out what had caused this and just maybe she could reason with Vlad.

The following day, Rose woke to find she had fallen asleep on the sofa of the room and at some point in the night, Vlad had covered her with a blanket. Vlad himself sat at the table, nursing a small can of oil and a barely eaten sandwich.

"Sleep well?" he asked without turning to see her.

"Not really…" She admitted rubbing the back of her neck. "What are we gonna do?"

"Until we get a call from Ikora and Zavala to say they are ready to talk with us, we can't do anything." Vlad explained and pushed a second sandwich towards her. "Beef." He told her.

"Thanks." She said though she was hesitant to take a bite, even though her stomach felt hollow and empty. "Are you still angry with Ari?"

"Are you?" Vlad asked back and Rose sighed, "Wanna talk about it?"

"I know she doesn't want to upset the Queen, but what makes Uldren so special to her that she's so willing to defend him?" Rose asked.

"She and Uldren were close before she left the Reef, I never asked how close they were but I know a man scorned when I see one." Vlad sighed. "I admit, Ari's loyalty to the Queen is absolute, and by proxy, her loyalty to Uldren is the same."

"But why would she defend him for this?" Rose asked, "He murdered Cayde."

"I'd ask, but right now, we'd end up having another fight." Vlad sighed.

"Another?" Rose repeated.

"Ari and I have had three big fights in the past, but we've always made up and forgiven each other for the mistakes as we both ended up being in the wrong in all instances. But this time…" Vlad shook his head with a deep sigh. "Arielle's loyalty to the Queen comes before her loyalty to anyone else in almost all cases, I know this isn't gonna change but when it comes to Uldren, everything is on very thin ice and one wrong step will break that ice, giving Arielle a real reason to argue."

"Worse than what she did to Skolas?" Bing asked.

"A lot worse." Sovereign stated. "She almost killed a Guardian out right one time when he made a comment about Uldren's 'obsession' with his sister. The stuff she did during that fight with Oryx was nothing compared to the anger she unleashed on that guy."

Rose couldn't stop the shudder at the thought, she'd seen Arielle angry, but she'd never witnessed any kind of true outburst of rage yet according to what she was being told.

Vlad sighed heavily. "Arielle and I have clashed about a lot of things because we don't see eye to eye, we have different views and different understandings of certain codes and laws, but that's part what makes us all a balanced team most of the time. When we fight it's not pretty and while one of us often tries to stay neutral, there have been times where we have taken sides and it's been the cause of a few long-term breaks in the team. But this might not be something we can move on from."

The sharp ping of the comm broke the silence and Vlad stood without a word and offered her a small smile. "I won't tell you not to come with me, but I will say that if we start arguing, maybe it would be safer for you to stay out of it."

Rose nodded. "I can't hide from this Vlad. Cayde took both of us with him, WE owe this to him." She stated following him out of the room with Bing and Sovereign at their shoulders.

They'd agreed to hold the meeting in the Bazaar early that morning, Lord Shaxx and Lord Saladin standing at the far end of the bridge that connected the Bazaar to the Courtyard, keeping the shop keeps and other Guardians away from the scene, knowing that there would likely be a lot of shouting and a lot of arguing to come, neither was looking forwards to the very real chance that they would have to step in if things descended into a brawl, after all Arielle didn't need her storm to be deadly and Vlad was known to fight dirty when the needs came about.

Rose placed herself between Vlad and Ikora, more out of the need to see everything than a show of where she stood on the matter of going after Uldren, Zavala stood with his shoulders firmly set and his face expressionless while Arielle stood with her arms over her chest glaring into the floor and Orion stood loosely at attention to the Warlock's right. Ikora was in her usual place, though she was radiating a barely supressed anger.

"We are unable to come to a unified agreement." Zavala said calmly.

"So, you called us here to make the choice for you." Vlad stated coldly.

"We called you to try and stop you making a mistake that could lead to war with the Reef." Zavala corrected.

"What?" Orion and Rose asked together.

"If we go after Uldren, mad or not, we will face the consequences of targeting the Queen's brother." Zavala explained, "We aren't ready or able to stand against another against the Tech Witches if they chose to attack us in retaliation."

Arielle nodded in agreement, glad that at least someone was on her side. "We have to find the reason for this." She said, "Uldren disliked Guardians, some of them more than others, but he wouldn't have done this."

"And to quote Petra's report," Vlad began with a growl. "The QUEEN locked him up to try and protect the Reef and herself, if Uldren was seen as a threat by his own sister to the point she would agree to lock him up, she must know that he's a danger and can't be left to do as he pleases. And let us not forget that if we do go to war, the first shot was fired by Uldren and thus the Reef made the first strike."

"Vlad's right." Wrex said, "We're not striking a blow to the Reef in a surprise attack if we pursue Uldren, we're responding to their attack on us."

"We were in their territory," Zavala reminded though he knew that argument was not going to hold ground. "Guardians have never gone that deep into the Prison before."

"We were there at the request of the Reef's current Guardian." Vlad snapped, swiftly shattering Zavala's argument. "Petra Venj called Cayde for help when the Prison was breached. None of us knew that the Prince was there or that he had lost his mind."

"Not to mention the Scorn Barons left with him." Sovereign added. "You do remember that they were all brought to the prison by Cayde and Petra before he became a Vanguard, they can't be left to just do as they please again."

"We don't know where they went." Zavala remarked.

"The Tangled Shore beyond the Reef." Ikora said, "My hidden reported them there before we lost contact with the Reef, we also had word from others that Uldren has killed Awoken and burned the Throne room, leaving the Outpost to burn itself into ruin. Even Variks has fled into hiding, still injured from the Prison break and those who weren't killed have fled into whatever safety they can find."

Arielle looked at her mentor in shock. "Why wasn't I told any of this sooner?"

"Because you are not one of my hidden." Ikora reminded, "I'm sorry Arielle, but the fact remains that Uldren has lost his mind and is a danger to everyone, not just Guardians and not just his own people."

"And no one here is the least bit interested in why?" Arielle reasoned desperately.

"What could possibly in all the universe be strong enough to sway the mind of the prince?" Vlad asked. "What would make him so sure of himself that he'd not only kill our Vanguard, but also destroy the throne room, kill his own people and then run off to the Tangled Shore?" He added.

"I don't know, but there must be something." Arielle snapped. "Uldren Sov the Shield wouldn't do this!"

"But he has done this Arielle," Ikora stated firmly. "We can't help him by doing nothing."

"And if we go after him in numbers and with force he could easily claim war on the Guardians and the City." Zavala said. "We are not ready for another war."

"So stay here and hide behind your wall. We'll go after him." Vlad snapped angrily. "We owe it to Cayde!"

"You only want Uldren dead for revenge." Arielle snapped back. "There is more to this Vlad, we need to find out what before we run in blind!"

"You just want to buy him more time to run and hide like the coward he is!" Vlad snarled accusingly as Rose and Orion stepped back to avoid the now visible Void and Arch light that danced between the two.

"We don't know all the facts!" Arielle yelled.

"The longer we sit and do nothing the longer that murdering bastard has to hide!" Vlad snapped, "We ran in blind to help when the Wolves attacked, and we went into the Black Garden blind. We can manage the Tangled Shore."

"It's not the same Vladimir-66." Zavala said, trying to sooth the argument. "The Tangled Shore is Lawless, no one and nothing there is safe, you will be completely in a dark zone and out of our reach, I cannot give you authorization to go there."

"I don't recall asking your blessings for this." The Exo snapped at Zavala. "You've made it clear you have no desire to do what's right by Cayde so stay out of this!" he added as he turned his attention back to Arielle. "You lived on the Reef long before came here, so you know the areas he's likely to hide in."

"Vlad." Rose pleaded, sensing where the argument was going and hoping to steer it away.

It was too late, Arielle snapped. "You think I'm helping him? Cayde was my friend too Vlad, I would never wish this on him or anyone!"

"Then why are you so set on protecting him? We've shown you proof, given you the report from Petra, Cayde is dead because of him! What more do you need to see that he's lost him mind?!" Vlad snarled.

"We don't know if it is even the same Uldren we know doing this." Arielle snarled back. "The Uldren I know wouldn't do this, he has no reason to attack Cayde or any one of us!"

"What possible reason could he or ANYONE on the Reef have to do this to Cayde?! He somehow thought that Cayde would kill his sister? She isn't even here! She's run off to do whatever it is she's doing and left nothing to even hint at what's going on, as usually." Vlad hissed venomously.

"What did you say?" Arielle hissed as her storm began to build with far greater intensity than Rose had ever seen before.

"Tell me I'm wrong!" Vlad snapped back, unphased by the increased static air around the Bazaar. "Where is she Arielle? Where is the one woman besides you who means something to Uldren to defend his actions? Where is the sister he so loves to serve? No where we can find her and instead of leaving you with details to help in this mess she's left you with nothing! Left US with nothing! Uldren has taken the life of a friend to all of us and if you are so set of defending him maybe you should take a closer look at your relationship to the Sovs!"

Rose didn't know who moved first, but she knew that if Ikora hadn't pulled her out of the way, she'd have been hit by a stray shot of Arc from Arielle as the Warlock and Hunter went at each other, mercilessly striking one another with light and fists and while neither said anything, the anger was raw and untamed between them. The Bazar echoed with the two's fight, heavy impacts making the air shake and crackle with light while Ikora shielded Rose, from the worse of the fight, Orion and Zavala standing further away as Warlock and Hunter went at each other like savage animals.

Rose had never seen anyone go at anyone else with such force or such anger driving them, she didn't realize she was shaking so violently until Ikora put a hand on her shoulders to steady her as the fight continued, though the violence did not diminish as rapidly as the Light around them was wildly lashed and partly focused into the fight with no true control or focus, resulting in the Light slipping away faster and leaving the two to fight with only their bare hands and normal strength.

Orion didn't step in until the Light had dwindled between them and with apparent practiced ease, firmly grabbed Vlad by the collar of the cloak and yanked him back, twisting the fabric enough to lock it around his hand and keep Vlad at bay facing away from Arielle, while he grabbed Arielle's wrist and threw her into a spin, effectively trapping one arm behind the Warlock's back and then kicked out the back of one of her knees, forcing Arielle down to the floor and keeping her there by pulling her trapped arm up her back and also keeping his knuckles firmly pressed between Arielle's shoulder blades.

"That is enough." He ordered darkly, channelling heat down both his arms as a warning when both his team mates still struggled to get back at each other. "I will put you both down if I have too," he added applying more force on Arielle's back and tightening the lock on Vlad's cloak.

The Exo wouldn't choke, but if Orion did burn Vlad's neck, he would do serious damage to the delicate wires and cables that lay just beneath the thin silicone that formed his neck, damage that even Sovereign would struggle to properly repair. Reluctantly, Vlad calmed down and let himself go still until Orion slowly released his hold on Vlad's cloak, only to give the Exo a push to keep him at a distance from Arielle as the Warlock shook with rage even as Orion slowly let her stand up and released her arm.

"Uldren is no longer in his right mind." Ikora said at last. "But that does not excuse him of his actions, nor does it give him cause to be left unchallenged for his behaviour against us and his own people." She added and turned to Vlad, "If you chose to go to the Tangled Shore. You will have my blessing to go."

"Ikora!" Zavala and Arielle gasped in shock.

"The people here need a Vanguard who is united, but we both know you will never give them the blessing to leave on this mission." Ikora stated firmly. "And if I could, I would go with them." She added.

"The City and its people need us here! The Prison's escapees are running amok from the Reef to here and back again, we can't become lost in revenge!" Zavala snapped.

"We will not." Ikora said, "A small fireteam can go after Uldren, just as a fireteam has always gone after any threats to our people." She reminded.

"But Ikora-"

"No Arielle." Ikora said cutting the younger Warlock off. "This is not an argument you can win. Uldren Sov has put this target on his back and there are no words you can say that will change my mind."

"But he's-"

"Arielle please," Orion pleaded putting a hand on her shoulder. "There is nothing you can do for him."

"You're taking their side?" Arielle stated, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice as her husband's shoulders sagged and he nodded heavily.

"Cayde's life shouldn't have come to an end like this Ari." Orion said, "and whatever his reasons, madness or otherwise, Uldren has brought this upon himself and if he can kill Cayde, if he can release the Scorn barons and burn the throne room his sister once sat in, what stops him turning the gun on you if you show up to help him?"

Arielle opened her mouth to speak, the fire behind her eyes evident that she wanted to answer, but the words wouldn't leave her lips, they held something forbidden, something she and Orion knew would cut deep and bring their relationship into the firing line.

Unable to bare that, Arielle turned away and stormed off as the darkened sky began to weep and rain began to wash over the Wall.

"'M sorry Orion." Vlad said heavily.

"We'll work through it, Vlad." The Titan assured weakly. "Eventually."

Zavala shook his head. "If you go to war with the Reef, it's a war you will have to fight alone. The Vanguard cannot help you." He stated as he turned away, leaving the Bazar.

"Orion?" Rose asked as the Titan stood looking out over the city below.

"I'm staying here," He said turning to the hunter with a weak smile, "I can't stop you and Vlad going after Uldren, but at the same time I can't blatantly leave Arielle alone." He added and gently ruffled Rose's head, "You do me a favour and make sure the walking tin man doesn't get himself killed and I'll watch over Arielle. Deal?" he asked.

"Deal." Rose nodded weakly watching Orion leave the Bazar, his head low and his shoulders sagged in defeat.

"I'll wait for you in the docks." Vlad told her as he also slipped off, leaving Rose and Ikora alone in the rain.

"Is this the right choice Ikora?" Rose asked after a few minutes, hoping that somehow Ikora could give her some peace of mind.

"I don't think anyone knows the answer to that question." The woman said and turned to the Traveler. "Ever since the Traveler awoke, it has been speaking to me. Visions of crowns, roses, silver trees and candles that turn into bonfires." She shook her head with a heavy sigh. "These visions confuse me, but I know I am not the only one having such strange things shown to them." She added and turned to Rose. "If you see something new, don't be afraid to pursue it, even if it frightens you. This is your road now."

Rose nodded, "Yes Ikora." She said, though she didn't feel she had been given a straight answer to her question as she left the Bazar.

Reaching the Hanger, Rose knelt and gently petted the chicken that now pecked the ground where Cayde once stood. "Be good for Amanda," She told the bird before putting down a hand full of sesame seeds and moved to join Vlad at their ships, helping to stock up on ammo and weapons.

Arielle moved quickly in the dim light of her ghost. Vakarian followed her loyally, managing to keep an eye on her and survey Wrex and Orion as the two lay sleeping later that night. The Warlock looked back to her wardrobe before she glanced at the bag again. Finally, she approached it quickly shoved aside the rest of the clothes and withdrew a box. Arielle dumped the bag she had packed, shoved the box into it and gestured to Vakarian.

The Ghost bobbed in the air and the two disappeared, only to materialize in her ship.

"Vakarian, scan for trackers. I want them all removed. Open channel, Queen's blade and block all others. We will not answer to any calls from the Vanguard or our fireteam. We're going solo."

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"It is the job of the Sword to destroy the Queen's enemies; Uldren is not her enemy. The others won't listen, and I won't let them murder him before they offer him assistance. That's not the way I do things, and if I allow them to murder him, I've failed, and you should've left me dead." Her orange eyes refused to look at Vakarian, but he knew his Warlock.

Nothing would change her mind. "I'll follow you into Hell, Ari. Let's go save the Prince."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six.

Tangled History.

The Tangled Shore. A broken, lawless collection of debris, ships and asteroids lashed together by thick cables and covered with scattered settlements of makeshift tents and huts, some of them interlinked by caves and tunnels others just vanishing off the edges of the twisted mess of huge rocks.

"This is the Tangled Shore?" Rose asked as she looked over the ruins before them.

~ "You expected something else?" ~ Vlad asked.

"I thought there'd be a more than just a mess of ruined rocks and smashed up planetoids." She admitted. "Plus, I doubt that this is where the Awoken people as a whole would live."

~ "They don't, No one outside the Reef born Awoken know where they live for real, not even Arielle knows. This place is just rocks, cables and shit tones of Fallen, Cabal and Hive who can't go anywhere else." ~ Vlad told her. ~ "We'll find a place to set down and starts searching. Uldren as his Barons would fit right in here." ~

"Quitter's Well isn't far off, we can set down there." She suggested calmly and lead the way down to the location.

~ "How do you know this place so well?" ~ Sovereign asked.

"I…" Rose paused, realizing she actually had no idea how she knew that? She'd never been here before and the maps didn't tell her the names of any areas here and yet she knew them, as easily as she'd known her name when Bing first revived her up. "I-I don't know." She admitted.

~ "We'll talk about it later." ~ Vlad said as they set down on the rocks. "We'll search from here to that tower on the horizon, Uldren can't hide from us."

Rose nodded and together they began their search, working their way carefully over the vast gaps between the rocks and scrambling over the rusted wreckages of ships and broken cyro-pods until Bing found a strange signal that draw them to the ruined camp that had once been home to a small band of Fallen, though their mark wasn't familiar to either of them. The signal was coming from a terminal that despite the ruins of the camp was very well cared for and looked to be almost new making it easier for Bing and Sovereign to hack the terminal and disable the holographic image of a wall that had hidden a tunnel opening.

"You hear that?" Rose asked as a terrible mechanical whaling echoed out of the tunnel.

"Let's go." Vlad nodded as they raced into the tunnel and found a small group of Scorn attacking the now ruined carcass of a Servitor.

Rose tossed a grenade at the group while Vlad unloaded a shot into the head of a Scorn that tried to charge them before they both went deeper into the tunnel, taking shots at every Scorn that dared to come at them with what Rose assumed was mindless loyalty to the Barons.

Vlad kicked the last Scorn out of the end of the tunnel with an angry growl and then put a bullet in the downed foe's head. "Son of a bitch!"

"There!" Rose called out suddenly, "On the ridge!"

Five of the Barons were stood on the Ridge above them, though four of them vanished almost as quickly as they had been seen while the last remained with a wheezed cackle as Vlad and Rose were surrounded by a corrupted fog of Ether.

"Perhaps you will give my children a better fight than your friend Cayde." He challenged as Scorn swarmed the two hunters. "Come! Kill us. Death is our sword." He added with a sickening wheeze as he vanished from the ridge.

"Cowards! Get back here!" Vlad snarled.

"Shit!" Rose snapped out as she kicked one of the Scorn away and unloaded a few rounds into the others that had appeared around them.

Vlad made a deep growling sound but followed Rose's lead, using his knife to cut into the throat and chests of the Scorn before Rose grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out of the way as one of the exploding Scorn tried to tackle them, exploding seconds before it hit the ground and covering the ground in its remains. "Thanks." He nodded.

"Welcome." Rose answered and then snatched the air beside her, twirling her Arc Staff rapidly as she struck the Scorn down. "Fuckers!"

"They're draining Ether from that Servitor," Sovereign explained from the safety of Vlad's armour. "Corrupting it somehow."

"Rose!" Vlad yelled in warning as a large Scorn appeared from the corrupted mist and unleashed powerful Arc blasts at her, knocking her backwards into a shallow ditch as the last of her Arc light flickered away. "Keep your head down!"

Rose obeyed the order and lay still, watching as a Void arrow slammed into the large Scorn's body, Void light engulfing and then devouring the foe away. "Are you alright?" Vlad asked as Rose got to her feet and dusted herself off.

"Yea, just a little bruised." She assured then paused as her commlink pinged with static. "What is it?"

"Someone's trying to hack our comms." Bing stated.

~ "Your late." ~ A familiar voice stated over the comms and Rose felt relief flood her body as she heard Petra's voice ~ "I thought I'd be hunting Uldren alone. I'm on my way to see an old acquaintance, word is he wants Uldren and his Barons dead as much as we do, but the problem is the feeling is mutual, so my acquaintance is laying low un a hidden bunker. If we want him to open the door, we can't leave any witnesses." ~

"So, you want us to clear the area." Vlad surmised.

~ "I'm sending you some back up to lead you to me." ~ Petra affirmed with what rose could only hope was a smile in her voice. ~ "Please don't shoot the backup." ~

"How will we know the back up from the enemy?" Bing asked as they moved on, taking out a small patrol of Scorn that had come at them from inside a tunnel.

~ "You'll know little one." ~ Petra assured.

And she as right, just as Rose and Vlad came around a corner of the tunnel the Scorn had attacked them from, two Fallen Vandal's dressed in spiked armour covering their backs and shoulders, bright blue optical helmets and Arc claw gauntlets on their second arms took down the last of the Scorn, upon seeing the Guardians, the two new Fallen moved to the end of the tunnel, one of them staying at the arch way as a guard while the other waved them to follow and jumped down a hole.

"Our back up are Fallen?" Sovereign asked.

~ "Oh, did I forget to mention that?" ~ Petra asked with what Vlad would call a smirk in her voice as they followed the Fallen down the hole, feeling the energy of the lift slow their decent until giving them a light landing right in the middle of a fire fight.

"Not that I am complaining, but why are Fallen fighting other Fallen?" Vlad asked as he unloaded a bullet into the head of a Scorn that managed to get by the spiked Fallen and charge them.

~ "The Scorn are not Fallen. Not anymore." ~ Petra stated. ~ "The Barons' leader, the Fanatic, has the power to resurrect dead Fallen as frenzied, bloodthirsty puppets and he believes that Uldren gave him that power." ~

"So, they murder Cayde and come here? What's so special about the Tangled Shore?" Vlad asked.

~ "That's not my secrete to tell, Guardian." ~ Petra said grimly, ~ "It's the Reef's. But I'll say this; Uldren sent the Barons here for a reason, I just need to confirm my suspicions." ~ she added as Rose carefully lined up a shot and fired into a small cluster of the exploding Scorn, setting off a chain reaction that left some of the nearby Scorn staggering and dazed.

Easy targets for the spike armored Fallen and Vlad as Rose continued to line up shots and fire when she had the chance until at last the Scorn stopped coming.

"We're clear out here." Vlad stated.

~ "Great, now get over here." ~ Petra casually ordered as the spiked Fallen lead them towards a wall of rock which fizzled away as they got closer to show an entrance way marked with a clear white image of a spider on the wall.

"Shine your shoes, you're about to meet the Spider." Petra said as she met them at the door, leading them down into the Bunker.

"Nice place." Vlad said, seeing the many security cameras and guards at the doors, all of them slowly moved aside to let them in.

"Rose? You ok?" Bing asked from his place inside her armour.

"I'm fine." Rose assured. "Just… getting a headache." She added.

"Ah!" A gruff voice laughed ahead of them as they came to a slightly brighter room where two more spiked Fallen were stood to the sides of one much larger Fallen, a Vandal who had seated himself in the hollowed out remains of a large Shank. All around the room, nets were hung, heavy with countless Ghost shells, most of them empty of light and useless, but somewhere amongst the nets were Ghosts who still clung to life.

"Well, if it isn't Petra Venj, the WORST jailer in the solar system!" The Vandal accused as he adjusted himself in his seat, one hand gently turning and twisting the dead shell of a Ghost, while his lower hands clasped over his large stomach, the last hand waving absently around as he continued to speak. "What brings you to my home away from home, away from home? On the run, are we?"

"I heard you lost the Shore." Petra stated evenly, ignoring the insults and baiting with ease.

"Gah!" The Spider spat and leant forwards, pointing an accusing finger at the Queen's Wrath. "YOU lost my Shore." He hissed darkly.

"I thought you'd want help getting it back." Petra stated and moved to let Rose and Vlad enter to room.

"Guardians?" the Spider asked, the gathered Fallen around them shifting back slightly, some even bowing their heads as if in recognition and greeting of them. "And where oh where, pray tell, are their Ghosts?" He asked, showing off the dead shell in his hand and Vlad saw Rose stiffen at the act, her shoulders tensing with anger though she took no other action.

"Never mind the Ghosts." Petra dismissed firmly. "There were three Guardians at the Prison of Elders when it fell; Cayde-6 and these two." She continued as the Spider again adjusted himself in his seat, leaning back and gently rubbing his fingers over the Ghost shell in his hands as Petra spoke. "We all want the same thing Spider, Uldren and his Barons dead."

The Spider paused for a moment, "But what is your…" he began to ask softly then seemed to come to his own conclusion. "Oh ho-ho, I see!" He chuckled darkly, "Despite our clear and mutually aligned interests I'm sorry, but I can't help feel like it is I who will come up short."

Petra's eyes darkened and she brought a hand up to the handle of her knife only to stop as Rose stepped forwards, Arc Light dancing over her body as several Ghost shells in the nets around the room began to shake and tremble at the sudden swell of Light before fading away to find peace at last.

"You will tell us where they are or I will blast this location out over the comms and bring every Guardian down on the Shore. We will destroy everything until we find Uldren and his Barons." Rose hissed as the Light inside her continued to show, even manipulating the Arc energy that flickered over the spears of the two Fallen guards at Spider's sides, "And I mean everything, every camp, every cave and tunnel system, every rock of this Shore will be searched and raided for its worth, no matter who or what we find in there, Hive, Cabal, Fallen or Scorn, they will be fair game, including your safe houses, your caches, your resources and even you little art collection I know you have under your throne. When we are done, you will have nothing."

Vlad wasn't sure what he had expected from the Spider for that threat, anger, insults maybe, but it wasn't the bellowing laughter that broke from the Vandal's throat, as if he had been told a joke by an old friend. The guarding Fallen at his sides seemed amused by it too, as if they had expected such an outrageous act from Rose, as if they knew her.

"Ah, I am glad to see that you are still such a brave little flower, I am pleased you have not lost that trait since your revival as a Guardian." The Spider praised almost fondly as Rose's light faded back into her body.

"You know each other?" Petra asked looking between the two as the Spider chuckled.

"This one and I had small dealings when she was a child. She always had quite a brave streak, even if it got her into some trouble." He recollected waving the matter off with a dismissive click of his hidden mandibles and carefully readjusted himself back in his seat. "It's true, I know where Uldren and his 'Barons' scheme." He stated calmly. "But I am afraid that getting there will not be easy. The Prison of Elders continues to leak its filth into my Shore. SOMEONE should really clean up the mess, before they go traipsing off for murder and mayhem." He added and then looked at the two Guardians. "What do you say, 'friends'? A little quit-pro-quo before you go scratch your itch?"

"And what do you get out of this?" Vlad asked taking the statement as part of a bargain.

The Vandal chuckled darkly at the question and leant back into his chair. "We can just say that you owe me, for now." He offered once again petting the empty shell in his hands. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal." Rose agreed, and Vlad nodded his consent though Petra wondered if either of them truly knew that they were making a deal that might come back to haunt them.

Silence wasn't uncommon and once upon a time, it had even been comforting but no more. Now the silence was filled with unease, uncertainty and frustration. Questions came to the mind in silence, questions that she couldn't even begin to answer without help, help that she no longer had believed she had access to as the realization her Queen had truly left her without a word. Why had this happened now? When everything seemed to be so perfect in life? Why had it come about now? How had it come to this? Arielle couldn't find the answers to the questions, even as she searched her memories for any kind of signs that she might have missed that had hinted to this hidden disaster.

She'd not gone straight to the Tangled Shore, she knew Uldren was not foolish enough to just stay in one place and likely he was searching for something while the Barons held everyone's attention at the Shore and so, Arielle began her search for answers in the still smoldering ruins of the Outpost she had once called her home.

"Ari?" Vakarian asked in worry as the Warlock staggered and braced herself against a wall. "Arielle are you alright?"

"I'm getting a headache," the Warlock sighed defeatedly as she looked over the burned remains of the Outpost. "How did I not see this coming? How didn't I know this was happening right under my nose?"

"Technically, it wasn't right under your nose Ari, Uldren was on the Reef while we were on Earth." The Ghost reminded. "And like Orion said, we all change over the years."

"You're not meant to agree with him." She snipped at her Ghost though there was no true anger in her tone.

"Even when he's right?" Vakarian asked. "Arielle you aren't the Awoken you were before I revived you, just like an Exo isn't entirely the same as they were before they go through a reboot. We all change and adapt to different situations and different choices and sometimes, the people we love and care about change in ways we don't like. I understand we don't have all the facts yet, but was it really fair of you to blame this on Rose's world?"

"I didn't…" Arielle stopped herself and sighed heavily. She couldn't deny that her argument, however sound in her mind, counted on factors outsider her control and if what Rose had said was true, if the Reef of her world hadn't been opened to the Guardians at all, it was possible that the Uldren of her world had not done this.

"It just doesn't add up, Uldren dislikes Guardians, he's made no secret of that but for him to do this to Cayde and to think that Mara is talking to him…? Something's not right about this and we have to find out what it is and stop it before we lose Uldren forever." She stated as she went back to trying to find any sign of Uldren on the Reef around the ruins of the Vestian Outpost.

Vakarian followed her faithfully, shining his light for her as they slowly worked their way through the twisted mess in search of answers. He'd never question her reasons or her choices for doing something and he'd leant a long time ago that Arielle rarely did anything without first thinking her actions through carefully, but he had to admit that this was the first time he felt unsure that they were doing the right thing. Arielle's life before him was completely unknown to Vakarian, but he was not so young as to think that Arielle, an Awoken found on the Moon rather than in the ruins of a crashed Awoken ship on Venus, Jupiter or even Saturn was just another Awoken.

It was rare to find them on Earth, but something about finding Arielle on the Moon had always made Vakarian wonder what Arielle had been doing so far from her home. He'd never thought to ask the Queen why an Awoken was on the Moon to begin with, after all the Prince had made it clear he didn't like Vakarian at all and so the Ghost had made it a habit to hang back whenever Ari was in an audience with the Queen or her brother at any time or just stay inside Arielle's armour, not wanting to become a target of the Queen's anger if she shared her brother's clear distain for Ghosts.

He'd not understood the reason behind the behavior of the Prince, nor had he understood the hurt that had flickered for just a brief second behind the Queen's eyes as she watched Arielle and Uldren until much later, after watching Arielle grow close to the Sovs as an equal, watching Arielle slowly become interwoven into their lives as if she belonged there. It wasn't until Arielle had discovered the plot for her future the Queen and Uldren had been planning and that same hurt look filled Arielle's eyes as she confronted the Sovs, using her Arc light for the first time ever as Uldren tried to sooth the anger only to fuel it with his poorly chosen words. The Queen had said nothing, and for the first time, Vakarian saw a flicker of true emotion behind the Queen's blue gaze as she and Ari looked at one another that day, a silent exchange that had led to Arielle leave the Reef and bringing them back to the familiar comforts of the Tower and the Vanguard.

Arielle had not forgiven the Sovs for their plotting, even after they returned to the Reef to aid in the battle against Skolas and his Wolves after their betrayal not even six months later, the relationship had been strained and Arielle felt the pains even as she tried to move on and slowly developed her new relationship with Orion. It had taken the arrival of Rose and Bing to bring Arielle back to the Reef and give the Warlock a chance to rebuild the shattered friendship they'd lost, though it seemed the Queen had not let her old habits die gracefully and had again left Arielle out of the loop, this time with far more devastating consequences.

Now, Arielle sought answers in the ruined mess that had been home once upon a time, and while he couldn't see her face, Vakarian knew his Guardian was fighting back tears as they found the ruins of the throne room, the damage beyond repair and so extensive that it must have been the ignition point of the whole blaze. So many memories had been made in this room, times of joy, of trust, of simply belonging somewhere and feeling right, no they were lost in ashes and smoldering embers that had once been the decorative cloth and cushions of the throne Mara had loved so much.

This had been home once, home where nothing bad could happen, home where it was ok to feel relaxed and safe, now it was cold, ruined and twisted beyond recognition, littered with the charred remains of Corsairs who'd knelt to Uldren only to be slaughtered.

"Arielle?" Vakarian dared to ask as Arielle stood, lost in her own thoughts as she looked at what was left of the throne.

"How can he do this?" She asked weakly and Vakarian noticed there was a glassy haze over her eyes as she spoke. "What could possibly drive him to this?"

"Ari?" Vakarian asked again and the glassy haze faded away so quickly it was almost as if it had never been there. "Are you… Are you with me, Guardian?"

Arielle blinked at him, realizing just how scared her Ghost left her feeling strangely vulnerable suddenly, she shook her head and offered Vakarian her hand. "Back to the ship." She ordered weakly as they transmatted out of the ruins of the throne room and reappeared in the small confines of their ship, where Arielle threw her helmet aside and backed herself into the wall and hugged herself, trembling as tears fell from her eyes though she couldn't understand why she felt so lost suddenly.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No." Arielle shook her head, her voice shaking even as she tried to find comfort in the familiar warmth of her ship.

"Ok," Vakarian said calmly and then fizzled out of sight and into her helmet, setting the ship in a short loop of the area scanning for anything that might help while Arielle had a moment to herself, whatever had happened in the throne room clearly had some effect on Arielle that resulted in her current state and Vakarian couldn't find any memory of his Guardians ever being so afraid of anything about the Reef.

"How do you know Rose, Spider?" Petra asked as the huge Vandal went about his usual business, one hand always holding the Ghost Shell while the other three worked, sometimes to take an offered item from his 'associates' as he insisted they be called, or other times to hand out his admittedly generous rewards to those who had completed a task for him.

He'd sent Rose and Vlad out to clear up a few odd jobs that his own people had apparently been struggling to cope with since the Prison Break, allowing Petra herself to stay in his safehouse to restock her own low supplies and also rest and tend an injury to her shoulder that she'd managed to hide form Rose and Vlad. But now she was alone with the Spider she had questions that she wanted answering, starting with how the Spider knew Rose when the Hunter hadn't come this far past the Reef during her visit to gain her Void bow, nor had she ever spoken of knowing the Spider before the Reef of her world was destroyed.

"I had a short exchange with her, some years ago." He said with a small huff as he readjusted himself in his chair, "I admit I hadn't expected her to return to the Shore upon hearing of her death, but it is nice to see such a dear friend once again."

"That isn't an answer." Petra hissed.

The Spider laughed at her answer. "Calm down now, it's not my intention to simply give you an answer, after all, nothing is free." He said, "I will answer your questions, if you will answer mine."

"I will not tell you the Awoken secretes." Petra growled and again the Spider chuckled.

"I do not, at this time, think you could keep them hidden even if you tried, given the state Uldren has left the Outpost in. But no, my questions are akin to your own," he assured, "You will have an answer about my past with the little flower and in return you will tell me why her history is such an interesting subject to you." He offered. "Agreed?"

Petra reluctantly nodded after thinking it over.

"The little flower was once a dear associate of mine when she was younger, a run away from Earth after a nasty matter between her parents. She was quite the little thief, skilled in the art of deception and lying her way out of tight situations." He told her regarding her previous question and then asked. "Why are you so curious as to my past with the little flower?"

"Rose," Petra stressed the name. "Is not of this world from what we know, she is misplaced in time and space by some Vex tech glitch." The Spider laughed as if he'd been told an age-old joke. "Why are you laughing?!"

The Spider waved her angry demand off and mimicked the human gesture of wiping a tear from his eyes. "Oh ho-ho-ho! Is THAT what you're all so surprised about? Hahahaha! The little flower began her life here, just after the fifth year of the Queen's reign began." Petra blinked, it would explain why there was no record of Rose in their own history. Five years after she became Queen, Mara Sov had not properly began her efforts to build her people their home and it would mean that Rose was before the Watchtower, before the City that lay beyond it…

"How do you know so much about her?" Petra asked.

"Ah-ah, it is my turn to ask a Question." The Spider reminded her with a chuckled. "What is it about the little flower's story that made you so sure she was not of this world and rather of the world she was revived in?"

"She come to their world from a glitching vex portal, the reports she brought with her told of a world that was on the brink of death and there was a recorded footage found later that showed that world's fall to Darkness." Petra explained briefly.

"Ah, so the Awoken in all their grate wisdom assumed that she was born in the other world." The Spider surmised from her answer. "And as for how I know so much of the little flower," he chuckled and gently caressed the Ghost shell in his hand fondly. "As I said, she was quite the skilled associate of mine, in return for her bringing me the requested items I asked of her I paid her with a safe haven to come to should she need further escape from an ever increasing issue she had, though, any gentleman worth his hide would never ask for such personal information of the matter. Needless to say, I grew fond of her visits as she always returned to me with the most beautiful trinkets and interesting scraps of information as well as the items I had sent her after."

Petra shuddered at the way the Spider spoke of the Hunter, he had been around a long time, long enough to be considered old, even older than Variks, but the way he spoke of Rose so fondly and so openly refused to call her by anything but his chosen pet name for her made Petra's skin crawl with something akin to disgust at the thought of Rose having any kind of connection to the Spider.

"Do not look so shocked," he told her, "I am many things, but I would never force a child into a situation she could not escape on her own." He added. "Over the years the little flower became one of my best agents, well liked and well respected by all who knew her."

"And I suppose you have no idea how she ended up in another world?" Petra asked, determined to move on from the subject of Rose's past with the Spider, if only to stop vial and undeserved thoughts taint her view of the Hunter.

"Not the slightest idea." The Spider shook his head, "Once the little flower reached the age of independence for you Awoken, she requested to leave my line of work and follow her own path to join the ranks of the Reef guards. I gave her one final task and she completed it, thus, breaking our partnership and beyond that I would only ever hear of her exploits from time to time from other associates of mine in passing. Then, one day she simply vanished from the Reef."

Petra would have accused him of spying on Rose, but there was no way to prove that and so instead she shook her head. "We have no 'Rose' in any files, the Tech Witches searched them after the defeat of Oryx. How can she had been from this world and ended up in another with no memory of this world being her home?"

"Not all Guardians remember their pasts." The Spider and Petra turned to see Vlad and Rose coming back int the safe out, Vlad throwing the collected salvage they'd found at the Spider's feet while Rose restocked the quiver for her bow, a gift Petra had granted her and Vlad before they left to hunt. "Some never want to know who they were before. Others simply chose not to hang on to the past."

The Spider chuckled, "And those who do want to remember?" He asked with a glance to Rose. "Surely not everyone is happy to just, forget their history?" He pressed.

"Those who want to know who they were go looking and they deal with what they find when it happens." Vlad stated. "We cleared up your Shore from here all the way around through the Hive at the Jetsam of Saturn, the Cabal in Sorik's Cut and all the way back up to Four-Hour Gulch. Even cleaned out some of the Scorn's Ether Rituals for you. Now tell us where Uldren and the Baran's are."

The Spider chuckled darkly. "Of cause, after all we are friends now and I take friendship seriously," he assured as he leant forwards, casting his shadow over the two Guardians, though his focus was on Rose. "Very seriously." He stressed.

"Get out of her space or I will give you an intimate introduction to my fists." Vlad warned coldly.

"Oh, now don't be like that." The Spider chuckled. "I wouldn't ask you to do something that wasn't also in your own interests." He assured as he leant back into his seat, "Now, to business. I will supply you with the Barons' location, with which I am quite familiar as it was, until recently MINE. Head for the slums beneath Thief's Landing, you might find some of my boys around trying to reclaim some of the valuables I was forced to leave behind during the 'relocation' helping them with their task may prove to be worth your while."

"We'll see what we can do." Vlad stated as the two made their way back out of the safe house.

"I'm sorry Vlad." Spider heard the Awoken hunter say when she thought they were out of ear shot.

"Not your fault." The Exo assured, "just don't like the way he talks like he owes you."

"Still sorry," she repeated, "I don't remember anything about my past before Bing revived, just that I died on Earth visit family, at least I think they were family…"

"We'll look into it if you want to, but only if that's what you want." Vlad offered.

"I'll think on it." She said, "Right now, though we have other things to do."

The Spider chuckled to himself, saving the information for later just in case it came in use at another time while calling his associates and letting them know to help the two get where they were going in anyway.

She was restless in her sleep, her body was trapped in a dream that made no sense, the flickering lights that floated without reason, suddenly erupting into uncontrolled fires, pink flowers that bloomed and wept blood, a black and white shapeless, writhing mass of Taken energy surrounding an even larger shape, restraining it in such a way that made the beast within scream out in sheer agony, a scream that echoes with three cackling and mocking voices. Then, without warning, she's submerged in water, icy cold, silver water, her lungs burning, begging for air.

Suddenly Arielle lunched forwards from her bed, one hand out stretched as if she were trying to grab someone in front of her, to catch them before they vanished with a terrified scream. "NO!"

Vakarian was up and at her side in seconds, "What? What is it?" He asked searching for the threat that he thought was there for a moment before realizing Arielle had back herself against the wall by the cot and was trembling violently, panting heavily as sweat covered her body. "Arielle?"

"I don't know…" Arielle said, "I couldn't focus on anything, so much and so many things… I just don't know." She repeated then winced and rushed to the bathroom, where Vakarian heard her wrenching.

"Ari I'm worried." Vakarian told her when she was done. "You've never been this unsettled before, not even when I first found you."

"I know." Arielle said, "I just, need time to focus my mind, to meditate." She assured weakly, though she knew her Ghosts would not continue to leave her to suffer these nightmarish dreams much longer.

"If you have another, I WILL call Orion. You need help Arielle," Vakarian said, "I can heal your body, but if you lose yourself mental, there is nothing I can do to help you."

"I know," Arielle nodded. "Please, just give me more time."

"Four days," Vakarian stated firmly, "if we have nothing in four days, I'm breaking radio silence to get you medical help." He clarified, knowing full well that if Arielle became worse he would break his silence sooner to insure she was safe.

Arielle knew that too, but said nothing as she nodded and slowly settled herself on her cot to meditate on her dream, using the soft, melodic chiming of her terminal to focus her mind and then slowly let her mind settle and then slowly calm and become focused on her dreams and the images that had been reoccurring since she left the Outpost. Somewhere in those images, horrid as they were, were the answers to her questions.

Having found two of the Caches close to the safe house, Rose and Vlad hadn't expected to be caught from behind and pulled into cover a few seconds before a swarm a barrage of rockets shattered the ground they would have been stood on.

Vlad looked up in time to see one of the Scorn Barons stood not far from them, staggering back as a bullet skimmed her face and he looked back to see Rose squeezing off another shot seconds before the Baron vanished in a fog of corrupted Ether.

"What the fuck?!"

"Baron." One of the Fallen with them hissed in answer to Vlad's shocked demand. "Machinist. Fanatic's second."

"Thank you," Rose nodded, "They know we're coming now." She added as she helped Vlad back to his feet.

"Then we better hurry." Vlad nodded and followed the faint echos of gun fire into the slums, falling into the familiar pattern of ducking into cover as they moved forwards, using the limited barriers to give themselves more protection while taking shots at the Scorn, slowly picking them off one by one alongside Spider's associates.

Finding another cache, Rose marked it for Transmat and would have called Bing out to help her had she not been harshly shoved into cover by one of Spider's men as a shot cut through the fabric of her cloak and cut through arm of the Vandal that had pushed her to safety.

"Rifleman!" Another yelled in warning and everyone took cover as more shots and another hoard of Scorn swarmed the room.

"Go on Hunter, take out your Ghost." The Rifleman mocked as Rose covered the plates on her chest where Bing had begun shaking so violently the vibrations could be heard. "I could use some Target Practice."

"Fuck you!" Rose snarled back, tossing a grenade over the small cover she had and made a swift bolt for better cover, pulling the injured Fallen with her while Vlad laid down cover fire for them.

The Baron laughed. "Every shot I take added more soldiers to the Scorn Army!" He boasted proudly.

A rocket slammed into the Baron's face suddenly. "Sit your ass down!"

"Flash bang!" A third Hunter asked as Kuji and Grandpa skidded into the fray, Grandpa snatching hammer after hammer with ease, clearing the Scorn out and driving the Baron back in a column of corrupted fog the same way the last one had fled. "Fuckers."

"Kuji? Grandpa?" Rose asked in both shock and relief as the Exo Titan offered her and Vlad a casual salute in greeting. "How did you find us?"

"Landed and followed the sound of death." Kuji said as if it were obvious.

"Exos have a tracker implanted into them at creation, we use it to locate each other when we need help or as a means to help the Human and Awoken Guardians locate us when we are injured in hostile territories." Grandpa explained better, "Orion asked us to catch up with you, turns out you weren't the only ones to leave the Tower."

"Arielle?" Rose asked, feeling cold chills crawl over her body. If Arielle was here, would they have to face her as well as the Barons and Uldren?

Kuji nodded, "No note, no clues as to where she went, just gone. No one can get hold of her." He added. "What's with the spiky Fallen?"

"Friends." Rose said. "We'll explain later, we have to keep going." She added sending the cache back to Spider, though she didn't bring Bing from his place.

"We lost one of your men Spider." Bing said into the comms, his voice carrying a note of static from fear.

The Spider could be heard chuckling over the commlink. ~ "The cost of doing business, little friend. Do no let it trouble you." ~

"Nice guy." Kuji said as they moved into the new room. "Oh fuck!"

"Walker!" Grandpa warned as both Kuji and Rose ducked into cover, Vlad snarled as he charged into the open, firing at the Walker's legs and easily forcing the Walker down, only to skid into cover as a large shield formed over the Walker.

"Mine!" Kuji suddenly cheered as he snatched up a Scorch Cannon from the ground and unloaded its few charges into the Walker's exposed insides, drawing the pained mechanical groaning sounds that were now the only warning anyone needed to take cover from the explosion.

"Found another Cache." Vlad said as he and Kuji moved to mark it or transmat, only to have the cache melt away and tether the two. "The Fuck?!"

"Booby trap." Rose hissed, firing a shot into the tether generator as they were again rushed by Scorn.

"Fuck!" Grandpa cursed as they faced the hoard of Scorn, Rose and Kuji taking the higher ground to clear out the exploding Scorn safely while Grandpa and Vlad threw any kind of stealth aside, meeting the Scorn head on. "Where do these fuckers keep coming from?"

"Scorn revived Fallen… never stay dead long." One of the spiked Fallen stated as they knelt, hacking into a wall panel. "Door open. Go."

"What about you guys?" Rose asked.

"Can't go in there." The Vandal said shaking its head. "No transmat out for us. Not safe for us in there anymore." They added as they turned and headed back the way they had come.

"Come on Rose." Vlad said, "We don't get another shot at this if we fail."

Rose nodded and followed Vlad, Kuji and Grandpa taking up the rear to make sure they were not followed by more Scorn until another large burst of corrupted Ether fog revealed a large Baron ahead of them, blocking the bridge they needed to cross, he said nothing, only slammed the ground with a spiked flaming flail, sending a wall of flamed across the bridge towards them.

"I've had enough of this." Vlad snarled snatching the Void bow from his back, putting three into the Baron and two more into the ground behind him as he vanished into the fog again. "Coward!"

~ "You fight. You kill…" ~ The voice of the Fanatic stated over their commlinks. ~ "It pleases me. Pleases KING Uldren." ~ he stated as if praising the name.

"King? HA! That bastard is NOTHING!" Vlad snarled.

~ "You think you will defeat my Scorn, my siblings AND my father all at once?" ~ The Fanatic questioned with a heavy wheeze. ~ "You think that you will succeed where Cayde-6 failed? Kill a Fallen, I claim it as Scorn. Kill a Scorn, I raise TEN more!" ~

"Then we'll kill you and end this before it even starts! Kuji stated as they followed the signal deeper into the echoing halls that had once been Spider's home, now decorated with he Scorn's markings and crude deco until they reached a barrier of corrupted ether, blocking them from entering as the Fanatic preformed the end of some kind of ritual.

"I do not need Barons to slaughter you." He wheezed out as he stepped behind a second barrier. "My Scorn will be enough to end you! Arise my Scorn, give these dead things their final death."

"Rose?" Kuji asked as Rose snatched her Arc staff from the air and slammed it into the Scorn Captain's head with enough force to crack the helmet apart, twisting the staff around easily as she struck rapidly against the staggering Scorn Captain's body until it fell, a charred and twitching mess, Rose then sending the last of her Arc Light into the Ether barrier between them and the Fanatic.

"I do not fear the dead," The Fanatic stated, bringing his staff up and mimicked Rose's swing though the Crystal at the end of his staff knocked Rose back across the room and into the wall above the door with enough force to dent the wall. "I CONTROL death!"

"Rose?!" Vlad panicked catching Rose as her limp body fell from the dented wall. "Rose!"

"You done it now Fucker!" Grandpa snarled, "Get your coward ass out here and fight!"

"You are more use to me alive. Go and pursue your vengeance for Cayde-6. I will claim your Fallen victims for my Scorn army." The Fanatic bid as he slowly faded away as he the Ether barrier fell.

"Rose? Rose! Answer me Rose!" Bing pleaded as he tried to feed light into Rose to heal the injuries he found having at last freed himself from her armour now there were no foes around them, the Hunter having suffered three cracked ribs and an impact fracture to the back of her skull. "Guardian? Please!"

"I, I-I'm here, Bing." Rose assured weakly, one hand gently cupping under her Ghost's shell to try and comfort him. "I'm alright." She added trying to sooth him more.

"No! You are NOT alright! You could have died! That hit could have killed you!" Bing whaled as he fell into her hand, the reality of his words seeming to shake the Ghost to his core in ways that had been forgotten. "Never do that again! EVER!"

"No promises," Rose said gently tucked Bing into her armour again. "Stay inside… you're not safe while you are outside my armour anymore." She said defeatedly then looked to Vlad. "Sorry."

"Why?" Vlad asked in confusion. "Why are you sorry?"

"This was our chance to end this… And now they've scattered," Rose stated and Vlad shook his head.

"We'll get them Rose," he assured, "No matter how long it takes, we'll find them all and we'll finish this." He added firmly.

"Let's get out of here." Kuji suggested and Vlad nodded, lifting Rose onto his back as they made their way back the way they had come in.

"Spider, the strong hold's secure." Vlad stated into the comms, "But they got away from us." He added and growled as the Spider laughed as if he'd heard it all before.

~ "Oh, you really showed them, didn't you? A piece od advice, eh? Know your enemy before you deal with them," ~ The Vandal suggested.

"Can you just give us a straight answer rather than fucking us around?" Rose snapped weakly, her voice straining somewhat.

There was a moment of silence before the Spider responded. ~ "Return to my Safehouse and heal yourself, little flower. We will talk more when you are well again." ~

Kuji blinked, "Anything we should know?" he asked as he looked between Rose and Vlad.

"No." Vlad growled while Rose shook her head.

"I'll try and explain later." Rose promised before resting her head on Vlad's shoulder. "When my head doesn't feel like its cracking open."

"Ok, well until then you two should know that Orion's not leaving Earth any time soon." Grandpa said.

"Why not?" Vlad asked in concern for his friend.

"Zavala's pissed at him for and I quote, 'allowing Arielle to leave despite his duty as her husband to talk her out of doing such foolish actions in the Cities time of need,'" Kuji said with a very poor imitation of Zavala's voice. "So, he's grounded Orion to Earth until further notice."

"Kai, Terrik and the others are back at the Wall with him, but we have no idea how long the grounding is going to last." Grandpa said with a sigh. "Its total bullshit and we all know it, but Orion's not going to go fight Zavala after all the shit we've faced recently. He doesn't want to make it worse."

"Hopefully, we put an end to this before he gets into any real trouble." Rose said as they reached the Slums again and were able to enter Spider's safehouse without incident.

Flickering lights that floated without reason suddenly erupting into uncontrolled fires, the lights began as an orb like shape the size of an engram, then from within the orb the flames erupted outwards, as if it had been under great pressure. She remembered them from another place, a place she felt safe in a place she had once stood in celebration of some kind with Uldren and Mara. Pink flowers that bloomed and wept blood, pink asphodelia flowers, Uldren had brought them back for Mara years ago from the Black Garden. They were protected from being picked because they were said to have a unique power over the Awoken soul though they were only ever picked to celebrate a birth or mourn death.

~ His presence makes it impossible to focus, and it frustrates her that he isn't doing anything except standing five feet away from her. Illyn would be disappointed and furious, if she were to find out. What would the Queen say? The anxiety that question ignites is immediately shoved aside when she sees him glance at her out of the corner of her eye.

His proximity heightens her senses and she hears her heart pound louder in her ears. She doesn't want to admit its beating faster too. Suddenly the leather of the book in her hand is too warm and she's aware of the cracks in the worn material from her previous readings. As her eyes dance across the words she realizes she's still on the same page. The words have lost their hold on her, the meaning and power they speak of is lost on her as she basks in his presence.

She turns the page as her cheeks burn with heat, a combination of embarrassment and annoyance that he has that much power over her. She pauses at the sight of a flower in her book and she realizes that he's been watching her this whole time, waiting for her to find the flower. She picks the gift up gently, afraid to damage it. The flower is pale blue with a soft mint scent that sends a chill through her. These flowers are often used as small gifts when Awoken make offerings or pray for good fortune. She loved these flowers. Her lips pull into a smile; it meant he loved her and it was his way of reminding her, even when he could not openly declare it. She placed the gift safely in her pocket and dared to glance his way, catching his eye and granting him a thankful smile before he slips away to let her study. Suddenly she wonders if he found the note she left him earlier. ~

A black and white shapeless, writhing mass of Taken energy surrounding an even larger shape, restraining it in such a way that made the beast within scream out in sheer agony, a scream that echoes with three cackling and mocking voices. She KNEW those voices, they were once friends to her and the Queen. Shuro Chi. Kalli. Sedia. All of them have been though dead after the Taken War but now she could hear them laughing and screaming, a terrible mass of Taken energy and choked aura, they were unable to escape, unable to speak out, unable to do anything of their own will. They hadn't died, they had been Taken and now they were trapped, serving the Taken.

~ Illyn will be...Illyn. There wasn't a word Arielle could come up with to properly explain how her teacher would feel. None of the words were enough. Shuro Chi and the others would be angry and disappointed with her. They'd spent YEARS training her to be one of them, poured so much of their own time into her because of her promise and power. She had needed their guidance to become one of the most powerful witches of her age.

It wasn't what she wanted. Not anymore. She wanted to serve the Queen as a Tech Witch, be one of her loyal supporters, fight alongside her. Then she met Uldren and everything changed. Their words about her being strong and her potential to be more powerful than Shuro Chi, who was in line to be the Coven Mother should Illyn fall to darkness, were wasted on her. That future was dark and though she'd be powerful, she'd be alone. What was the promise of power to his love? The smiles he reserved just for her? The secret walks and star gazing? That future diminished the second he walked into her life.

Illyn tried desperately to hold her to her promise. She hadn't wanted to lose Arielle to something as frivolous as love, even for Uldren Sov. But Arielle bravely handed back the shoal that marked her as a Trainee and formally declared her resignation. The Coven Mother hesitantly granted Arielle's request, and it stung to see her mentor so disappointed, but the sight of his brilliant eyes and secret smile chased that feeling away.

Originally, Uldren had intended on teaching Arielle to assist with his Crows, but Mara Sov had stepped in, and suggested a different line of training; scouting. She took to it nearly as well as she had her training to be a Witch. So Uldren trains Arielle to be a spy, under Mara's watchful gaze. The Queen of the Reef watches Arielle grow more confident in her presence and watches how Uldren smiles more and even laughs when the former Witch-in-training says something. Mara is also nearby the first time Arielle hears the whispers. Though the Reef is ruled by a matriarchy, there were many that were unhappy to find out that the Queen's brother was courting on of Illyn's Rejects. Though the story of Arielle's decision to leave her training was well known, there were many who believed she had in fact been kicked out of the training for a weakness. The whispers upset Arielle, as did those that hinted that her relationship with Uldren was anything less than mutual.

It was Mara that finally made her fears disappear. "There will always be those that will look down on you, that will tear you down out of jealousy. They want to believe the worst of you because you are better than them, and though they have done nothing to better themselves, they will hate you for securing your future through your own means. They will never care how hard you worked at your training and they will never believe Uldren truly loves you. You know your truth, Arielle, and that alone is enough." ~

The water, the silver water, she KNEW it, she remembered the water from a lifetime before, a lifetime where she had never dreamt of leaving the home she'd been happy to make, a lifetime before she became the Stormdancer, before she became the Queen's Sword. The water was from a life where she had been closer to Uldren. So close that they had shared more than just their name.

~ Suddenly Arielle find herself floating in a place she recognizes and at the same time she has no idea where she is, then she sees herself as she was before becoming a Guardian, dressed in the same black and purple armour of a Queen's Wrath, but there is something different, the mark she carries is different it means she is more than that to the Queen, she is someone of importance now.

A chill in her whole body and Uldren suddenly walks through her from behind, a small bouquet of wild flowers behind his back as he continues his silent approach on the woman and she is pulled back by unseen forces and watched the exchange from a distance, unable to speak or interact with anything around her, only watching the event unfold before her. She watches Uldren tap her past self on her shoulder gently and then deliberately goes to the opposite side of her and holds the bouquet to her as she turns to look his way, burying her nose in the petals, bringing a smile to Uldren's face that Arielle hasn't seen in years.

He says something as she takes the small bouquet in her own hands, listening to his every word before a flicker of worry passes over her face, but it is short lived and turns instead to unbridled joy as Uldren takes a knee before her and offers her a small velvet box, her answer is clear as she throws herself at him in a tight embrace, both of them tumbling down the small hill laughing as they held each other.

Arielle turns and sees Mara, hidden entirely from the view of her brother and past self all those years ago on a balcony, a genuine loving smile on her face as she watched the scene below her and then everything changes, the garden is filled with decorations and she sees herself in a beautiful dress, the same dress she worn not so long ago to walk down the aisle to Orion, but it wasn't Orion waiting for her at the end of the aisle here, Orion wasn't here at all, he couldn't be, he was Earth born, and he did not wear scaled Ahamkara armour... ~

The realization cuts deep on such a level that Arielle felt as if someone had struck her physically and she let herself fall out of her meditation, hugging her knees to her chest as the realization suddenly made everything about the way Mara and Uldren had acted during her first days in the Reef as a young Guardians clear.

"Ari?" Vakarian asked as he floated closer. "What's wrong?"

"I married him." She stated weakly.

"Married who?" Vakarian asked.

"Uldren." The Warlock whispered. "I was Arielle Sov by marriage before I died. I was his wife Vakarian."

Vakarian blinked his optic, taking the information and slowly his shell sagged in realization. "Oh."

She had been Uldren's wife in her past life. She'd been equal to Mara and Uldren and shared their name as a sister and wife before her death and when she'd been revived and returned as a Guardian to the Reef, Vakarian at her side and memoryless of the life with Uldren and Mara, for them to recognize her and when she had shown no recollection of them. What pains had that caused them both?

Had that been why Mara had allowed her to stay where she had turned others away, Awoken or not? It would explain Uldren's behavior and coldness towards Vakarian even though the Ghost had never spoken an ill word to Uldren. The distrust of her fellow Guardians and their Ghosts and the endless patience Mara had for her and Vakarian, the tolerance to Arielle's inability to just stay still, always needing to be out fighting a threat, or learning, or just exploring, it all made sense.

"Arielle." Vakarian began quietly and Arielle looked at him. "What are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know." Arielle said.

The Spider had been mostly silent since they returned to his Safehouse, only the continued growl that was normal for all Fallen when breathing was present around them as Iris, Val and Bing worked to heal and tend the injuries to Rose while Petra steadied her fellow Awoken, all the while Vlad seemed to brood in silence. Grandpa knew better, he was old enough to see the silent tension between Vlad and the Spider, the way Vlad had put himself deliberately between Rose and the Fallen who had offered them shelter, a move that all but screamed 'back off' in all languages, while the Spider rested comfortably in his chair and seemed more than happy to torment Vlad in a silent staring contest.

"So," Spider said, seeming to grow board of the silence. "Even the great 'Heroes of the Red War', have limits to what they can handle." He said, gently turning the empty Ghost shell in his hand. "Eight Barons and an Awoken Prince and only four of you. I so dislike bettering on the underdogs. But you are resourceful, and you have the Queenless Queen's Wrath in your corner."

"I will still hold good to my threat to bring the Guardians down on you Spider." Rose stated from her place as she was hit with another burst of Light.

"Ah, you've talked me into it." The Spider quickly assured, though Vlad saw the fond flash behind the Spiders eyes. "Our friendship shall continue while you pursue your vengeance. But when the Shore is a bit less crowded," He assured and lent forwards to better see Rose. "We will speak again of favors."

Vlad put a hand over the holster of his hand cannon. "Try anything and I'll blow your head off myself."

"Stop acting like love rivals, she's in the clear." Kuji chilled the Exo hunter and Vlad snapped his attention to Rose, offering her a small smile as she pushed Bing back into her armour in familiar ease, before the Spider could get a better look at him. "Now, would one of you mind explaining why I can't go kill everything that moves until I find the bastards that killed Cayde?"

"Because the Spider is going to tell us who we are looking for and why we should worry about them. Then we go hunting." Vlad stated. "Just one Rule. Don't shoot the Fallen with the spiked armour."

"Fair enough." Grandpa nodded and turned his attention to the Spider. "Start talking."

The Spider nodded and used his lower hands to carefully retrieve and begin shuffling a small deck of worn-down cards. "What do you already know, if anything, about the Barons?" he asked.

"The Scorn Barons began their lives as Dregs, cast out by their own houses and then again shunned from House Exile. They are the worse of the worse, speaking out against everything the Archons and Kells preached, rather than following and 'reclaiming' the Great Machine and House Devils, Kings and others had wanted, the Scorn seek to turn every last Fallen House into a Scorn, what they believe is the true destiny of the Eliksni race." Vlad stated.

The Spider nodded and then tugged one of the cards from the deck he was shuffling. "Reksis Vahn, the Hangman, a silent sadist known to have docked the arms of Dregs with his bare hands, he hunted down the last of the House of Wolves and tore out the cores of their Servitors, he has claimed their destruction as one of his greatest achievements." He briefly introduced and then reshuffled the deck and tugged out another card, "Kaniks, the Mad Bomber emphasis on 'mad'. A demolitions expert with an irritating way about him, some say due to the number of times he had been caught in his own explosions, he's begun to lose his grip on sanity." He reshuffled the cards again. "The Trickster, Araskes; a liar and schemer who would rather hide and cower behind her Fellow Barons and her many traps than fight for herself, trust nothing she says and nothing she touches." He warned showing them the image on the card as he had before.

Rose caught the slight of hand the Spider used to flip the card from the bottom of the deck up and behind the image of Araskes but said nothing. "Hiraks the Mindbender. This one has a rep for manipulation and a morbid obsession with the Hive, if you chose to presume him, do not go alone." He reshuffled again and drew another card. "Yaviks, aka the Rider. Leader of a bombastic gang of Pike-riding heathens, they sow chaos and destruction wherever they ride and if they don't kill you, the toxic gasses and poison from their Pikes will smother your lungs until Yaviks returns to finish you in her own time. The Rifleman, Pirrha. The only creature alive who could make the shot that moralized Cayde-6. He uses holo tech to draw out the fire of his enemies and then takes them out."

"He's mine." Rose said and when Vlad went to argue she turned to him, "I've watched Watson and Cayde die twice now, I owe them at least that bastard's death if nothing else."

"You can't argue with that." Kuji added. "Plus, Rose has the best shot out of all of us. She's the best choice."

The Spider clicked his behind his mask and drew out the third to last card. "Elykris the Machinist. The Scourge of Solis Descent as you Guardians will now her best." He stated as a deep growl built in his throat, "This one sits atop a trove of tech and heavy armaments stolen from me!" he snarled before drawing out the second to last card. "The Fanatic himself, Fikrul. Leader of the Barons and first of the Scorn, the power he holds is some dark magic that allows him to revive dead Fallen into the Scorn you see them as now, from the Ogre sized Abominations and dual torch wielding Wraith, to the brutal Stalker and skittering Screebs. His dark magic has no place on my shore, NO place!" he hissed, and then draw the last card.

"Last and most certainly least, Uldren Sov, traitor to his own people and the man who pulled the trigger that ended Cayde-6's life. He may be in the wind, but his Barons are ripe for the picking and while they are strongest together, when they are separated you might just have the chance to end them."

"Then we divide and conquer them, one by one just as they isolated Cayde form us in the Prison we will isolate Uldren." Vlad said. "Then we hunt Uldren down and end this."

"Sooner or later, Uldren will go to the Watchtower, that Awoken spider at the far edge of the Shore." Petra said, "We'll be ready for him there when he shows up."

"What makes you so sure he'll go there?" Rose asked.

"There is no other reason Uldren would come to the Tangled Shore save to go beyond the Watchtower. We must stop him before that happens." Petra explained.

"What IS beyond the Watchtower?" Kuji asked.

"I can't say," Petra said, "Not until this whole mess is done with and over." She added when Vlad glared at her, sighing when the answer still didn't sate the Exo Hunter.

"We'll find out when Uldren shows up." Rose said, "For now, we have Barons to hunt and kill."

"I'll have my associates keep their ears and eyes sharp for any details on where the Barons are, when they show up you will be the first ones to know." The Spider assured, "In the meantime, several Prison of Elders escapees have been released upon my Shore."

"And we care why?" Grandpa asked.

"Killing them means we have less to deal with when the Baron's turn up and it's good stress release to shoot stuff." Rose offered.

"And if the Fanatic revives them into Scorn?" Kuji asked.

"He can only revive Fallen?" Vlad asked looking at Petra and the Spider both of whom nodded. "Then I know just how to deal with them." He said, "I'll call in a favor and sort out the details after we've eaten and rested."

"I doubt you'll find anything a Human can safely ingest around here." The Spider remarked, "Unless you like the taste of cooked Hive worm?"

"And I'm no longer hungry." Kuji winced, shuddering at the thought of eating something like a Hive worm. "Guh, that's a nasty thought."

"Never thought I'd see the day you didn't eat, Kuji." Iris's voice stated, and the Spider realized the voice was that of a Ghost. "You normally aren't bothered by 'gross' things."

"He's just not good with raw meats." Valmont explained. "He doesn't do living meals."

"Hush you." Kuji huffed and bumped his chest armour to the right of his chest, where Valmont was safely hidden away.

"I have extra rations in my ship." Rose assured, "You can raid the boxes later if your appetite comes back."

"Thanks Rose," The human nodded, "So, where are we sleeping?"

"Why didn't they tell me?" Arielle's question made Vakarian blink as he watched her. "They knew and neither of them told me… Why?" He knew who 'they' were and he knew the answer to the question. Silently he turned and projected the memory against the wall of the ship.

"You'd gone to use Petra's shower, since yours wasn't working right," he told her as the images began to play.

~ The room was neat and tidy, save a lone data pad that was laid on the bed rather than tucked away on the shelf, the Reef armour proudly hung on its stand while he sat on a small dock, downloading data into the terminal while he waited for her to come back. Then, there was a knock at the door and the Queen entered a moment later, surprising the Ghost but he was polite and floated up from the terminal dock and dipped his Shell in a bow. "Arielle isn't here your Grace," he explained.

"I am not here to speak with Arielle." The Queen said to him, "I have some questions for you, little ball."

"Me?" Vakarian asked in some confusion.

"Do Guardians remember their pasts before the Light revives them?" The Queen questioned directly.

He blinked his optic at the question, having not expected it from the Queen. "It honestly depends on the Guardian, your Grace." He answered truthfully. "Some recall the events leading to their deaths but little else before that, others sometimes do not regain their memories at all until something triggers them."

"But they can recall their lives before they died." The Queen pressed, a strange look behind her eyes that Vakarian didn't understand. "If they recall their names before death, why not their memories as well?"

"As I said, it depends on the Guardian." He repeated. "Not all Guardians remember their names and they often chose to rename themselves when that happens. Ghosts only revive the body and give the Seeds of Light, we don't know who our Guardians are before we find them, nor do we have a way to give them back the memories they lost. The memories of their pasts are still with them, buried deep in the subconscious of their minds by the trauma of death, but until something triggers them the memories remain dormant."

There was a pause and Vakarian realized the Queen was thinking over what he had told her, he remained quiet and waited for her to speak again or leave when she seemed determined to ask him another question.

"Have there been cases of Guardians remembering their pasts and suffering any ill-effects?"

Vakarian twisted his shell and slowly dipped in a nod. "All Guardian minds are different, Exos lose memories every time they have a reboot, just small fragments but they can be precious memories that were once dear to the Exo, Humans who remember their pasts can suffer nightmares of their past traumas, even lingering phantom pains of injuries that are healed." He paused and seemed unwilling to continue.

"And Awoken?" the Queen pressed.

"There is no easy way to explain what happens to the Awoken, your Grace." Vakarian said grimly, "Awoken Guardians can meditate and reach a state where they can relive their past lives, but it comes with risks. There is always a chance that the mind will become lost, leaving the body in a comatose state and while we can care for and sustain the body for a time, if the Guardian cannot leave their memories and return to the present, they develop what we call 'Memory Decay'."

"And what is Memory Decay?" The Queen asked.

"The Awoken becomes trapped in their past, unresponsive to all outside contact, they have no sense of pain or hunger and eventually the body shuts down, even with a Ghost channeling the Light of the Traveler, the Guardian becomes frail and weak until they die again and because the mind was trapped in itself, there is no way to revive them. They are gone forever." Vakarian said. "Ghosts can revive the dead from almost any kind of injury and we can heal the worst injuries to little more than scars, but we can't heal the mind."

"I see." The Queen said after a while, her shoulders stiff as she turned away. "Thank you for tell me."

"Of course, your Grace." Vakarian said, dipping his shell again, "May I ask, why you wanted to know?" he asked, knowing that the Queen could very easily just leave and deny him the answer.

"Arielle was close to my brother and I before she died. We had assumed the Hive had devoured her when we heard her excursion to the Moon had ended badly." She stated. "I thought that perhaps the memories of her life with us before her death could be easily recalled, but I will not risk her life in such a way just to bring back the Arielle I knew." And with that the Queen left the room. ~

Vakarian let the image flicker away, waiting for Arielle to respond to the information, letting her gently take hold of his Shell and hold him in her hands as she had many times before when she had been a young Guardian.

Ghosts couldn't heal the mind because it was so complex, it was the reason why so many Guardians often sought out the Speaker for his advice and council when they suffered nightmares and dreams that made no sense, and why Ikora and many of the older Warlocks offered private consultation sessions to help the young Guardians, to insure any mental problems were caught early and treated as best they could be. But the Awoken had always been wary of their mental powers, many of them having a varying level of telepathy that could increase or decrease as they aged as Guardians, many of the Awoken Guardians also naturally knew how to meditate and often times chose to face their mental issues alone or with their own race rather than going to the Speaker or Ikora, this could sometimes lead to reoccurring nightmares and bouts of paranoia before the Awoken went to Ikora and the Speaker for help.

"Why didn't you tell me she had asked?" Arielle asked him.

"Because I didn't want to cause trouble." Vakarian said, "Back then Uldren refused to even look my way and the Queen seemed unhappy that I had chosen you, I thought if I told you she'd been asking questions, you'd go and ask why she was so interested and that would mean you were cast out of the Reef, I knew you were happy there, even with everyone so weary of you, so I stayed quiet." He explained, "I'm sorry."

"No, its not your fault." Arielle shook her head, gently rubbing his shell, "You couldn't have known my past with them, none of this is your fault."

Vakarian gave her a small chime and then blinked his optic, "So, what's the plan?"

Arielle sighed softly, "We'll go to the Tangled Shore and start looking there." She said, "Uldren will go to the very edge of the Shore and try to get past the Watchtower. We'll be there ready to stop him when he does."

Vakarian nodded.

Kuji, Rose and Petra had fallen asleep in a spare room the Spider had offered them, Kuji sprawled on a cot near the wall while Rose was curled up on a separate cot, partly buried in the fabric of her cloak, Petra had fallen asleep with her back against the wall while Grandpa sat up on his cot, cleaning their weapons and Vlad laid on the cot beside Rose, one arm gently laid over her side while he rested his optics, unable to properly relax into a comfortable sleep as Rose seemed to have done, despite not being in a familiar place.

Every now and then, Kuji would shift position slightly, a sign he was not sleeping deeply as he portrayed himself to be, Petra would lift her head now and then, sleepy eyes glancing around before closing again and he would go back to her own dreamless sleep, but Rose was in a deeper sleep, her heart rate had slowed and her brain activity was spiking every few minutes as if she were dreaming and despite being surrounded Fallen and in a strange place, she wasn't unsettled or weary. She was comfortable here, she felt safe enough to rest here despite the dangers and Vlad wasn't sure if that was because she was with friends, or if it was because of her past life that she felt such comfort here.

Grandpa watched Vlad gently retuck the cloak over Rose and smiled softly. "You do know that she isn't gonna run off with him just because he knows her past." He said.

"I know." Vlad nodded.

"Then stop stressing," Grandpa told him.

"The man's in love Gramps, he's not going to sleep while he feels she isn't safe." Kuji said with a smile as he rolled to look at them. "You two planning a wedding to match Arielle and Orion's?"

"Not the time Kuji." Vlad sighed, gently brushing lose strands of hair from Rose's face. "She's had to watch Cayde and Watson die twice now, this isn't the time to be asking about spending our lives together."

"Sorry," Kuji sighed, "So, what's the plan?"

"We hunt the Barons, we kill them and then we take down Uldren." Vlad said.

"Not what I meant." Kuji corrected himself, "What's the plan with regards to Arielle?"

Vlad sighed heavily, how were they going to handle this mess now Arielle was somewhere around, looking for Uldren with the intention of helping the Prince rather than hunting him down and ending his life for what he'd done to Cayde, and while normally he would welcome the Warlock's help, right now he doubted they the two of them could have any kind of conversation without fighting.

Rose didn't deserve to see that again.

Orion had stopped them before, but the fight hadn't become as brutal and harsh as it could have done, Arielle hadn't been focused on hurting him just as Vlad hadn't been focused on hurting her, but if they had been trying, if they HAD wanted to do real harm to one another, Vlad knew it came down to luck and skill, if Arielle caught him out, he would come off worse, the Storm inside Arielle was enough to knock his Exo systems off line and leave him open to attacks, just as Arielle would come off worse if Vlad was able to catch her in a Void tether and or even land a direct hit with one of his Void Arrows, flooding the Stormcaller with the cold unforgiving chill of the Void.

"We'll worry about Arielle when and if we come across her in our hunts for the Barons." He said after a long silence.

"Fair enough." Grandpa nodded, "Time to sleep." He added and laid himself down on his back, arms under his head as he dulled his Optics, Kuji yawning as he rolled back over and settled again. Vlad sighed softly again and lay himself down, one arm still wrapped around Rose as the Awoken Hunter slept on, oblivious to the waking world.

A sudden alarm went off around them, snapping everyone out of their rest and up to their feet, Rose seeming to run on autopilot for a moment as she scanned the room and put a hand over her armour to make sure Bing was still there before she relaxed just that little bit and asked. "What the hell's going on?"

"The Rider's gang just went past." Petra said as she holstered her gun and covering her mouth and nose with her scarf.

"How do you- What the fuck?!" Grandpa gagged as he covered his nose and mouth with his hand to try and block out the throat burning stench that suddenly filled the air, forcing Rose and Kuji to quickly cover their mouths and noses with their cloaks to try and block the stench out.

"What IS that smell?" Kuji coughed out, unable to escape the suffocating smell until he put his helmet on to filter the air so it was it was breathable, but the stench was still unbearably strong and left everyone's eyes burning.

"That's what Yaviks' personal brew of fuel smells like." Petra said as Vlad and Grandpa turned their smelling sensors off to spare themselves the stench, while Rose adjusted her cloak to match Petra's. "Her gang of Pike Riders must be in the area, or they attacked one of Spider's patrols."

~ "It seems your hunt is on my friends." ~ The Spider stated over the comms as the internal venting systems of the Safe house kicked to life and began to filter out the bad air. ~ "The Rider's Gang is making itself known in Sorik's Cut." ~

"Then that is where we are going." Vlad said as they headed outside.

"Cayde beat Yaviks in a race the last time we faced her." Petra said, "You'll been to fight on your Sparrows or steal a Pike to even keep up with her."

"Whose got the fastest Sparrows?" Kuji asked, already pausing outside the Safehouse and after making sure the area was clear of snipers and that they couldn't be seen, brought out Valmont and let the Ghost show him the states on his Sparrow. "150 top speed and durable build." He said.

Rose brought Bing out and nodded as he showed her the stats of her own Sparrow. "150 top speed, light enough to make jumps, but not so good with sudden impacts."

"160 top speed, good shielding and made for off roading." Grandpa said, "And it can carry extra weight."

"Grandpa and I will drive, you two shoot." Vlad nodded, "160 top speed, good shield and good stability." He added as he and Grandpa summoned their Sparrows. Kuji jumped on the front of Grandpa's Sparrow, using a length of rope to act as a makeshift handle to steady himself while Rose sat behind Vlad.

"Good luck." Petra bid as they took off towards Sorik's Cut.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven.

Baron Hunting.

Yaviks and her gang had been easy to track down and a few well aimed shots had brought her gang members down off their Pikes without any issues, though Kuji had complained he never get the smell out of his armour from their Pike fuel.

Tracking Yaviks herself was not as easy, the Baron was leading them through the flooded area she had claimed as hers on the Shore and had it not been for their helmets, both Kuji and Rose would have suffered the effects of the toxic air as they played a very deadly game of demolition derby around the thick smog of the fuel and tried to avoid being smashed by Yaviks and shot by her company of Raiders on the edges of the flooded arena.

"Damn it this bitch is fast." Vlad growled as Rose struggled to get a clear shot before Yaviks vanished into the smog once again, the two having narrowly avoided being rammed by the Rider's Pike. "Grandpa you see her?"

"No."

"Where the fuck is this bitch?" Kuji growled as he searched the smog with his scope, taking shots at any Raider he saw to clear them from the edges to at least leave some form of 'safety' in the worst should happen. The faintest movement to the left of his Scope and Kuji moved and squeezed the trigger, forcing Yaviks to pull away sharply to the right with a feral snarl as Grandpa swung his Sparrow to the left. "Got her!"

"Good! Now hit her again!" Grandpa told him as they splashed the toxic fuel over the Raiders along the edge. "My sparrow can't take much more of this!"

The sound of crashing metal and an explosion burnt through the smog and Kuji leveled a shot at the exposed engine of the Pike, squeezing the trigger as Yaviks' attention was locked on the two downed Guardians, her modified Pike exploding and creating a floating fire on the fuel that consumed the Rider's body rapidly and left her screaming out as Rose heaved Vlad up onto the small edge that wasn't covered in fuel, the Exo's left leg badly crushed and sparking rapidly.

"Fucking Bitch! How did she get so close?" Vlad snarled as he watched the Baron try and fail to escape the burning fuel, but it seemed the explosion had completely crippled the Rider's legs and she couldn't escape the flames.

"Rose?" Bing asked in some shock as Rose unholstered the Hawkmoon and leveled it with Yaviks, putting one round into the Baron's head and the screaming stopped.

~ "She would not grant you the same mercy were your places reversed, Little flower." ~ The Spider told them.

"That's what stops us becoming monsters like them." Rose said. "Let's go. It's not safe to heal you in the open and it's gonna be a long walk out of here."

They managed to get out of the main area moments before another loud and powerful explosion erupted behind them, the fuel and toxins in the area at last burning away, making the while Shore shake.

~ "Do try not to destroy my Shore too much, I intend on staying here when this mess is over." ~ The Spider stated over the comms.

"Given how bad that place smelled, you'd have had to rip it down and rebuild anyway." Rose told him. "Strike Yaviks off the list."

"So, whose next?" Kuji asked.

Vakarian had managed to get them into a hidden cave, untouched by the Hive or any other creature of the Shore, now he worked tirelessly to insure they were not found, cloaking the ship and keeping everything none vital on standby, ready to move them if they are in any kind of danger. With her ship in her Ghost's care, Arielle set about hacking into the comm channels, catching tidbits of fallen talk, Petra's attempts to reach other Awoken and then, with a little twist of a few wires and a helping hand from Vakarian, she linked into Rose's comms and listened carefully to what was said.

~ "I'm telling you, Yaviks is not getting back up from that blast." ~ Grandpa said, the soft zap-zap of a tool in his hand indicated either he was repairing an injury to himself or he was helping fix an injury on Vlad.

~ "And I'm telling you, until we find the source of Fikrul's power they can ALL come back." ~ Petra insisted.

~ "He thinks Uldren gave him the power, so why not just kill him and be down with it?" ~ Kuji hissed.

~ "Because we can't find him." ~ Rose said, ~ "And until we get one of the Barons to talk or we get lucky, it stays that way." ~

~ "We'll find him, my worry is Arielle." ~ Vlad stated.

~ "You really think she'd jump into save Uldren?" ~ Petra asked.

~ "I'm not sure, her loyalty to the Queen is absolute and it always has been, but Uldren's pushed her the wrong way a few times and whatever their history was it's making her do dumb shit." ~ the Hunter Exo said.

~ "She's the Sword of the Queen." ~ Rose defended, ~ "She's gotta be struggling with this just like we are." ~

~ "Arielle never struggle-OW! Watch it with that welder!" ~ Vlad growled.

~ "Hold still then, this is delicate work." ~ Grandpa told him, ~ "And Arielle has struggled before, or did you forget the mission we took on the Almighty?" ~

~ "That's different, that was a Light issue, not a matter of believing something told to her by people she should be able to trust." ~ Vlad said.

Grandpa sighed heavily but said nothing as he continued to work.

~ "How bad was your Sparrow wrecked Vlad?" ~ Kuji asked.

~ "Trashed and smashed," ~ Vlad said, ~ "Amanda's gonna rip me a new ass hole when we get back. Then hand me to Zavala for cleaning duty or something." ~

Rose chuckled softly, likely Arielle only heard it because she was listening from Rose's end of the commlink. The chatter stalled out after that and Arielle sighed softly as she sat back in her ship pilot seat, they hadn't found Uldren and that meant he was in hiding still. Good, the longer he stayed hidden the longer she had to try and figure this mess out.

She sighed again and slowly took a deep breath to calm her mind before letting her eyes close, needing to rest and take it all in before she made her next move.

~ "Arielle!"

She looked up at Illyn and her ears burned in embarrassment. She'd zoned out during training again, still on that same page she'd been stuck on for the last six days.

"Clearly you are too preoccupied to be of any use today." Illyn remarked coldly and waved her off. "Go, clear your mind. Your progress will not continue while you are so distracted."

It stung, but Arielle couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face as she ran out of the building. She was free hours earlier than intended; she was free for Uldren. She hoped that he would enjoy the surprise. There never seemed to be enough time for them and even though it meant ignoring her training, Arielle couldn't wait to see him.

She found him in the library and it inspired a spark of desire and affection. With a sneaky smile she quietly walked towards him with the intention of sneaking up on him. Right before she could say something, Uldren remarked, "Aren't you supposed to be training?"

Arielle pouted, "Why do you ruin all of my fun?"

He glanced at her with his bright, glowing eyes and Arielle felt heat rise in her cheeks as he said, "Because you're cute when you pout." ~

Her eyes snapped open and she winced, clutching her head tightly. "Ah!"

"Arielle?" Vakarian asked concerned as his Guardian tried to rid herself of the forming head ache. "What is it? Did you fall asleep?"

"No, it wasn't… it wasn't that. I was aware of it I just couldn't snap out of it." Arielle said shaking her head and rubbing her temple to try and ease the pain, "It was like a vision or some kind of memory."

"A memory?" Vakarian asked, "Like the ones Rose had?"

"Maybe." Arielle nodded leaning back in to her chair, "I don't know why I'm having them now though, I was around Uldren and Mara all my young life and I've never had anything like this happen before, why is it coming back now?"

"I don't know, but Rose did say that they happened during or around times of great stress. Maybe that's what's triggered them?" Vakarian offered.

It would make sense if it was that, the stress of the whole situation had brought questions up that Arielle had never thought to ask before and there was no one to help her search out the answers or even help her by explaining the random and broken order of the memories either. They were from before her days as a Guardian, but they were not coming back to her in any kind of order. Was this how Rose saw her flashes? A broken disorganized recall of places and people? Or did she have some kind of order to the memories she'd seen? Arielle could have asked but there was uncertainty in her thoughts now, Rose had never questioned her, nor had she ever looked at her with anything but awe and admiration, but when Arielle had questioned her honesty about Uldren after Cayde's death and since witnessing the fight between her and Vlad, she'd seen the fear and loss in Rose's eyes and Arielle didn't want to scare the Hunter any more than she already was.

Something washed over her ship suddenly, a weak and fading surge that made her ship falter and drop unsteadily into the ground with a heavy clatter while the systems gave off a few warnings of errors or just completely shut down, even Vakarian gave a startled gasp and fell from the air.

"What happened?" Arielle asked, catching him in her hands gently. "Vakarian?"

"I'm ok. Ju-just. I can't-t-t move my Shell…" Vakarian strained to say, blinking his optic. "Some kind of-f-f-f EMP I think-k-k-k. Give me a minute."

Arielle nodded and turned back to the hacked comm lines to listen to what was being said as a small commotion began to filter through.

"What's happened?" Petra asked as Grandpa and Vlad suddenly slumped and convulsed as the Safehouse's systems buzzed and whined around them. "Spider?"

~ "An EMP blast, emanating from Sorik's Cut." ~ The Spider stated with a deep growl, ~ "It's carries the signature of the Trickster." ~

"Valmont track that bitch." Kuji ordered, helping Rose lift Grandpa onto the cot bed. "You ok man?"

"Sure, just a little stiff in the joints." Grandpa joked lightly. "Gonna need a little oil, but I'll be fine."

"You better be," Iris said, slipping out of the Titan's armour unharmed and unaffected by the blast as she carefully sent small burst of static into Grandpa's armour, unlocking his arms and shoulder plates to expose his chest plate beneath, "that blast knocked out your sensory grid, you can't move until it passes, but I can at least make sure she didn't fry anything else."

"You and me both." Sovereign said as he worked to try and fix the mess the blast had made of Vlad's systems. "She took out your stabilizing grid, you'll need at least an hour to recalibrate."

"One hour until I can personally hunt this bitch down and rip her fucking arms off." Vlad hissed through gritted teeth. "Unless someone beats me too it." He added looking to Rose as best he could which was little more than turning his optics towards her. "Be careful."

Rose nodded. "Try not to fall off the cot."

Kuji smiled and looked at Grandpa. "Wanna time it?"

"I give it at least six months." Grandpa stated.

"I'm saying twelve." Kuji said. "Loser buys the most expensive gift when they get hitched. Winner has drinks bought for him by the loser for a week."

"Deal." Grandpa agreed. "Now go make sure she doesn't get herself killed by this bitch."

Kuji nodded and followed Rose as she left the room and once outside the two summoned out their Sparrows and took off towards Sorik's Cut.

"What are we going to do Arielle?" Vakarian asked, finally shaking off the last of the EMP blast from his shell as the ship began a slow recovery itself.

Arielle shook her head slightly, "We'll wait for them to pass us then we'll go out and hunt for clues ourselves." She said knowing that while Vlad was distracted by Hunting Barons he was not looking for Uldren, that meant that Petra was the one hunting the Prince. As loyal as Petra was to the Queen, she was not as skilled at hiding and hunting as Arielle and that gave the Warlock an edge.

"Vakarian monitor all comm chatter, tell me the minute you hear anything about Uldren." She ordered as she moved outside her ship, tucking Vakarian safely into her robes where he would be safe as she climbed the side of the ruined Hive Tomb ship, watching through the scope of her rifle as Rose and Kuji's Sparrows cut through the Hive wreckage around them, hand cannon shots echoing as Hive Knights and Thrall fell dead to the ground as the sparrows raced by, then like she had on the Moon so many years ago she took up a position and settled in for a long wait.

Her days on the moon back then had taught her to be patient, to wait for the answers to come to her and that is what she would do now, she would wait for the clues and answers to come to her from the commlink and chatter of her team and insure that she found Uldren first. At least if she could get to him, she might get answers out of him without having to resort to violence.

"Red Legion Cabal, Scorn everywhere and we've somehow got to find a Baron." Kuji said as they looked over Sorik's Cut. "Got any idea where she might be?"

Rose shook her head. "Valmont and Bing can't get a lock on her but she's in the area." She said.

"So, we shoot shit and hope to get lucky?" He offered.

"Sounds like a plan." Rose nodded as their Sparrows fizzled away. "Kill everything and anything not Spider's until we find her, whoever kills the least cooks' dinner for everyone tonight?" She offered.

"Deal." Kuji nodded and together the two hunters moved slowly from cover to cover, using their shots to force the Cabal and Scorn into tight spots and then take them out with a well thrown grenade or a fatal shot to a Screeb sending bodies flying with missing limbs.

"Engram!" Kuji yelled and snatched up the item easily only to go stiff when Valmont scanned it and he tossed it away with a warning yell. "It's gonna BLOW!"

"Shit!" Rose yelled and ducked into cover as the Engram suddenly erupted taking out the Cabal forces and some Scorn who had not been able to escape the radius of the bomb. "Kuji?"

"I'm fine!" Kuji assured somewhere to the right of her, though he sounded hesitant. "How the fuck did she rig an explosion in an Engram?"

"Fake Engram." Rose told him. "Easy to make look real, but worthless without loot."

~ "Very clever little Hunter, but know-it-alls just spoil all the fun." ~ The Trickster's mocking cackle came over the comms.

"Says the coward who can't fight for herself so hide like a docked Dreg." Rose hissed back, leveling a shot at the closest Scorn. "Guess we'll just have to kill everyone you're hiding behind first."

~ "You think you can?" ~

"Didn't you hear Yaviks screaming?" Rose asked and ducked into cover seconds before a shot skimmed past where her head had been. "You missed!"

Kuji knew if Grandpa or Orion were here, heck even Arielle if she were here, would scold Rose for such blatant comments, but he didn't, he'd seen and used this same tactic before, pushing the buttons of an enemy's temper, make them angry, make them lose focus on staying hidden and make them so outraged that they show themselves and leave themselves open for an attack, a tactic that had been perfected by Andal Brask and continued by Cayde-6 and other Hunters in his honor after his death to Taniks the Scared. Titan's called it 'Fools Banter' a game that could easily be played on any Guardian or foe and those who fell into the trap were the fools, Warlocks called it stupidity as the statements often distracted others in the area. Hunters called it getting the job done in their own style.

Cayde would have been proud.

Kuji spotted a large stock pile of the rigged Engrams and felt a cold chill go down his spine. Rahool had recently ordered some new Engrams and if he got these instead of the regular ones…

"Rose, Big problem!" he yelled, shouldering the rocket launcher from his back and aiming it at the strange device that was creating the boobytrapped Engrams, only for it to do no damage to the device or the Engrams that were being produced. "The fuck?"

Rose skidded into the shadow of the large tower structure the Engrams were been housed in and snatched one up, letting it get hotter and hotter in her hands before tossing it with a mighty heave at the same tube like opening Kuji had fired on just as another Engram was coming out. The resulting explosion making the whole tower shake and tremble around them.

"That works." Kuji nodded.

~ "You wretched little things!" ~ The Trickster yelled in anger. ~ "You've ruined my plans! Filthy insects!" ~

"Houseless Outcast!" Rose yelled back. "You may be a Baron but you have NOTHING! You ARE Nothing!"

The answering screech of fury made Kuji's ears ring so much that he brought his hands up to cover his ears over his helmet, ducking down as shots bounced off the wall near where his head had been, he managed to follow the trajectory of the bullets back to their origin. Araskes, the Trickster stood on a ledge across the area they had just cleared of Scorn and Cabal, emptying her weapon at their location. When her bullets ran out the Trickster screeched again and ran into the tunnel behind the ledge as Rose and Kuji broke cover and charged after her, Rose catching a glint out of the corner of her eye before they vanished into the tunnel but thought nothing of it as she followed Kuji into the cave.

"Where are we now?" Kuji growled as they lost sight of the Trickster in the darkness of the tunnel.

"Diaviks Mine." Rose told him, crouching and carefully putting a hand to the ground. "Stalkers, Lurkers, Wraiths and Ravagers have been though here. I hope you're ready for this."

He nodded and reloaded his rifle. "Hunters are always ready."

Rose nodded and tapped her chest plate, a silent assurance her Ghost was still there. "Bing, scan the tunnel ahead of us, tell me what I can't see." She requested.

"The tunnel breaks apart a few yards ahead of us, but the cave beyond the break is stable. Lots of activity inside." The little Ghost told them as they slowly made their way forwards, keeping to the shadows and darker areas until they reached the broken bridge that lead into the cave.

Rose nodded to Kuji and took a running jump at the bridge just as a shot cut the air by her head as she landed.

"Found her." Rose said as she returned fire.

"She's rigged the ammo!" Bing yelled out in warning after scanning the cave. "And the Plants!"

"Touch nothing. Got it." Kuji said as he and Rose swept through the cave, taking well aimed and practiced shots at the Scorn around them, all the while ducking below and leaning to one side to avoid the shots from the Void rifle that peppered the cave around them, shots fired from the still enraged Trickster, poorly aimed and rushed in her attempts to hit the two Hunters.

Kuji ducked behind a large rock for cover as Rose back flipped into her own cover. "I got more bomb Engrams." He told her pointing to the pile of Engrams not far from them.

"So, let's make use of them." Valmont told him. "We'll use her toys against her."

"I like his idea." Rose agreed, grabbing up one of the Engrams and tossing it between her hands before giving it a mighty heave towards the suddenly confused Scorn seconds before it erupted and cleared the Cave entrance enough to give them time to move deeper before more Scorn tried to swarm them.

"My turn!" Kuji yelled and Rose ducked under the two Engrams the human Hunter had tossed over her, scattering the charging Scorn and making them easier targets for their rifle fire.

"There!" Valmont yelled as a streak of corrupted Ether trailed ahead of them.

"I see her." Kuji nodded taking up another Engram and tossing it ahead of the trail's path just as Araskes revealed herself by a door at the back of the room swiftly keying in a code to open it but unable to avoid the blast from the Engram as it erupted against her back, burning up her cloak and charring her shoulders and back badly as the door half closed, unable to function properly from the explosion.

"Nice toss Kuji." Rose smiled using her knife to take down a Stalker, kicking the corpse to the ground as Kuji fired a shot into the flaming head of a Ravager's flail, making it explode and kill its holder. "Double points?"

"Nah, I fell behind when you cleared out the Engram factory." Kuji joked, checking his ammo. "Ready to do this?"

"It's too late to turn back now." Rose remarked and reloaded the Hawkmoon. "Araskes the Trickster isn't walking out of here."

Kuji nodded and together they ducked into the room Araskes had fled into.

"You have visitor."

Vlad looked at the door was as the spiked Fallen Vandal stepped aside and let their visitor into the room. "I thought you were grounded, Orion." He said with a small smile.

"Zavala got out voted by the Faction leaders and Ikora, so here I am." Orion smiled as he released Wrex from his armour. "What happened to you two?"

"EMP blast fucked us both over. Kuji and Rose went to chase the Baron responsible." Grandpa explained from his cot, stiffly jerking a hand up in what was meant to be a wave. "We're ok, just need time to recalibrate our stabilizers and neural nets and we'll be good."

"You let Kuji go out with Rose unsupervised?" Orion asked, "should we be worried they might blow up the shore?"

"Rose is supervising him," Grandpa smiled, "So, what's the word from home?"

"Prison of Elders' escapees are running wild and making hell for us all, Taken activity on Io increased suddenly and we've got reports of increased activity in all Hive locations. Since we can't send the escapees back to the Prison, Zavala has allowed the Drifter to use them in the Derelict Gambit." Orion told them, moving as another spiky armored fallen came in and quickly set up another cot in the room. "This is our room then?"

"Spider's letting us use it. Though to be honest I'm sure its something to do with him knowing Rose." Grandpa said.

"Say what now?" Orion asked.

"He calls her 'little flower' and from what Petra's told us, he claims he knew Rose before she was a Guardian. Turns out she's actually from here and not that other world she was revived in. but he's no idea how she got there." Grandpa retold briefly.

"Little flower?" Orion quoted and looked at Vlad, "And you haven't shot him yet?"

"He's helping. And I've saving my bullets for the Barons and Uldren." Vlad stated with a growl as he managed to slowly sit up with stiff and jerked movements. "Have you come to help us? Or to look for Arielle?"

"I'll help you hunt the Barons, but when it comes to Uldren, I'm not getting involved." Orion said, "I know Arielle has her reasons for wanting to help him, reasons she hasn't told me but that doesn't mean I can sit back and let you get yourself killed hunting the Barons that helped kill Cayde." He added.

"Because you'll hurt Arielle's feelings if you hurt Uldren?" Vlad asked.

"Because I'm not hungry for blood." Orion stated. "You're out for revenge Vlad, and we all know it, but have you taken a moment to think what happens when you have Uldren in your sights and Rose calls for mercy?"

"She won't." Vlad said.

"You hope that she won't." Orion corrected. "You and I both know she's not blinded by bloodlust like we are at times, she's matured since we met her in the Vault and she's faced her fair share of powerful foes, but she's still just a young Guardian and an Awoken at that. She's bound to know that any harm laid on Uldren by her hand or those she associates with is going to mark her as an enemy to the Queen."

Vlad huffed, "Uldren was locked away in the Prison. The only person who could have authorized that is the Queen herself. She KNEW her brother wasn't right in the head and she locked him up for it. Petra's report backs that up and if Arielle thinks she can somehow explain way his actions let her try, it doesn't change the fact Uldren Sov murdered Cayde-6 and did it in cold blood. That is unforgivable."

Orion sighed but said no more, there was nothing more he could say, Vlad's mind was set and while his words made sense, Orion was not the type to blindly follow a vengeful quest. He had agreed to help hunt the Barons, but if they did find Uldren Orion refused to be the one to bring the Prince down, knowing that if he did act against the Prince, there would be no hope of maintaining a future with Arielle.

"Guess she likes glimmer." Kuji said as he and Rose stepped carefully around the piles of glimmer that were stacked high and wide around the room.

"Most Dregs do like shiny things." Rose said listening carefully for any kind of giveaway sound that shouldn't be in the room, glimmer itself made a soft, almost soothing 'cling-cling-cling' sound if you listened carefully enough, but there were other sounds here, the drip-drip of a small leaking pipe, a straining whirl of the broken door's mechanisms trying to close and open the door, ruined by the explosion.

A faint scrape of metal on metal and Rose moved, letting herself roll into cover and fired a shot off towards the scraping as Araskes tried to take a shot at them from their far left, knocking the rifle out of the Trickster's hands as Kuji turned and emptied his rifle into her torso and arms as the Baron lifted her arms to try and protect her face.

Click-click-click. "Oh fuck." Kuji paled as his rifle stopped firing bullets.

"Down!" Rose yelled, sweeping Kuji's legs as a sparking ammo block came at them. "Split!" she added and vanished into the Glimmer piles, knowing Kuji would do the same.

"Now you are done for, wretched insects!" Araskes seethed as heavy steps echoed around them. "I will kill you both and show your corpses to King Uldren. You're Ghosts will die! Just like Cayde-6."

"You haven't won yet bitch." Kuji reminded from his place somewhere to the middle of the room.

The steps went towards his voice and Rose dared to peek out as they passed by her hiding place, giving her the chance to run for new cover as Araskes threw another rigged ammo block at where she thought Kuji was, sending the glimmer everywhere around the room.

"Where ARE you!?" Araskes yelled in fury only to scream as a pain burned her back and she twisted ripping the knife from her back and growling as she saw Kuji stood atop a glimmer pile, his arms sparking as he caught his Arc Staff mid twirl and lunged at her, striking her chest and head repeatedly then sweeping her legs out with one powerful blow to her knees.

She screeched again, snatching the last Ammo block from her cloak only to drop it as a second Arc Staff slammed into her body and shoulders, keeping her pinned down until the bomb at her knees gave out a rapid blaring beeping sound.

Rose jumped back as the alarm went off, feeling herself being pushed back by the force of the explosion as Araskes was left a charred, burned corpse smoldering from the explosion of her own trick bomb.

"Kuji?"

"I'm good." He assured standing and dusting himself off. "You ok?" he asked as she shook her cloak out and dusted off her hood.

"I'm ok," She nodded, "We better get out of here before Vlad and Grandpa come looking for us." She added and the two began their slow walk out of the mine, taking care they didn't trigger any hidden bombs that they might have missed on their way in.

Once outside Rose saw a glint out of the corner of her eye again and turned to look for the cause of it, she saw the ruins of the Engram factory and noticed one of the panels had been pried apart to create a slightly larger opening, but there was nothing that reflected the light to make the glint she'd seen. Then she saw a thin shadow where there shouldn't have been one and the tell-tale shine of a sniper's scope watching them, but just as soon as she'd seen it, it was gone.

A challenge.

"Are you coming Rose?" Kuji asked as his Sparrow formed on the ground in front of him.

Rose nodded, "Yes, I'm coming." She assured letting Bing bring her Sparrow from the ship before dropping something small to the floor as she mounted the Sparrow and followed Kuji away from Sorik's Cut.

~ "Where are we going?" Arielle whispered.

"You'll see." The Prince replied, tugging her along after him as he led her through the hangar. It was late and no one was working at this hour. They came to a stop at a ship and he climbed in before pulling her in after him. Her cheeks should've been purple if not bright red as she was guided into his lap. "Trust me, Moonlight."

His breath was warm on the shell of her ear and she could feel his heart beating against her back. It was beating just as fast as hers was and her chest ached with love as she realized that their hearts were in unison. "I trust you."

"Good, now close your eyes." Uldren smiled, "I have something I want to show you." He explained, and she nodded, closing her eyes and listening as Uldren worked around her, keying in a few commands and then brought his arms up to slowly guild the ship into eth flight way, after a few more key strokes, Arielle felt the ship slowly gliding out of the hanger and then climbing through the mists of the Reef.

He flipped the ship to auto pilot and gently brought his arms around her again. "Look."

Arielle opened her eyes and felt her chest tighten and her breath catch in her lungs, all around them were stars and constellations she had only ever seen briefly in from the City's streets, where they were unclear and often hidden by the light of the city itself but here, they were clear and breathtaking. She'd never seen the stars as clearly as this before, not even as a child when she had climbed to the roof of the towers of her home to try and see the stars better, they had always fascinated her and she had tried so hard to learn more about them before falling into the training of a Tech Witch.

"Like it?" He asked at last drawing her back from her wonderment for just a brief moment, though all she could do was nod her head in response. He chuckled and she felt his arms tighten just a little more around her, coaxing her to lean back and see more of the stars that hung in the shades of space around them.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity though she knew he hated being still and doing nothing, he was silent and allowed her to become lost in the stars around them, taken by the beauty and grace of it all in a new-found awe and wonder. ~

A shrill blaring of an alarm tore Arielle from her memories and she snatched up her weapons and threw her coat on as she left the ship, tucking Vakarian into the safety of her armour as she went. "Where is it?"

"Right above the cave, but it's gone now." Vakarian told her as she slowly scaled the rocks to reach the area above her ship and scanned around with her weapon scope, searching for anything that shouldn't be there.

It was 'night time' the sky was darker than normal and the light mist had become a thick and suffocating fog that clung to the edges of the Shore and lay over the lower areas like a blanket, making it hard to see and easy to hide, until a large pillar of corrupted fog brought everything to a stand still and from its swirling blue hues, the Hangman stepped out.

He looked around carefully and Arielle held her breath, laying perfectly still and watching; waiting to see what had brought this Baron from his hiding place so suddenly, then to her own shock a lone Servitor that had triggered her alarm tried to quickly flee from the area, only for the Hangman to swiftly and violently throw the burning flail at the round form, bringing the Ether device down with one strike, though the Servitor did not die instantly, instead it wailed and screeched in its own way trying to continue its flight to escape, trying desperately to reach a small cave Arielle knew housed a small pocket of Fallen from House Dusk. The Hangman said nothing, not even a chuckle as he grabbed the Servitor's broken body and dragged it back from the cave and then carried it away with him.

"Reksis Vahn, the Hangman." Vakarian told her softly. "The Baron known to dock dregs with his bare hands and the Baron who finished the House of Wolves."

A soft hiss to her right and Arielle rolled barely avoiding the lunching Screeb that tried to dive on her seconds before Void shots swarmed her location, forcing her to keep moving to avoid being hit as the Scorn charged towards her. She got her footing after a few seconds and opened fire as she moved, staying near the tighter confines of the caves, cut outs and tunnels to avoid the multitude of shots that came at her, using the tight spaces to her advantage, snapping neck around with her hands and ducking down to hide from the blasts of the Screeb when they tried to grab at her.

The spark ignited inside Arielle and she brought her arms up, catching the energy of the Arc storm in her fingers and jumped up, casting the storm over the area, watching the Hangman step back from the range of the Arc storm and faded into the Ether Fog. She had to be careful. This was a Baron known to enjoy causing pain to his targets, and from the few reports Variks had managed to send her about the last of the Wolves, those who had run away and hidden from the Guardians to try and recoup their numbers, this Baron took pleasure in drawing out the torture of others until he was board of them.

Returning to the safehouse had been uneventful, though finding Orion there now had been a nice surprise, though his news was grim, the fact there was someone else there to help bring down the Barons was a welcome comfort. After a hot meal and a long talk about what the remaining Barons, Everyone had chosen to call it a night and try to get some sleep, Orion sleeping with his back to the wall on his cot while Kuji was flopped over his own Cot, head buried under a pillow he'd managed to find on his ship, Grandpa was laid on his back, one arm under his head and the other over his stomach while Vlad lay on his side beside Rose as she lay under her cloak.

She waited until she knew the others were asleep before quietly slipping out of the room, Bing safely tucked into her armour as she slipped past the rooms of sleeping Fallen and past the room Petra was stationed in, her terminal still lit with work but Petra herself had fallen asleep at the desk.

With a nod, Rose kept going intent on going after the Baron she'd seen alone.

"You were always good at sneaking past my guards, Little flower." The Spider said from his chamber. "But you're scent betrays you to me, as always."

Rose growled. "Are you going to try and stop me?" she asked stepping out of the shadow she'd been using to sneak out of the Safehouse until that point.

"No. You aren't mine to command anymore. But you may need this one favor from me." He said with a small wave, coaxing her closer with a chuckle as he brought out a small box from his throne's side panels.

"And what's the price for this favor?" Rose asked, staying out of arms reach. "Nothing form you comes for free."

"No price, not this time. You earnt this before you left my services, but you were so eager to start you new life that you did not claim it." The Spider explained and opened the box to show its contents, something Rose instantly recognized.

"A Sunshot hand cannon?" She asked.

"It will serve you better than my other Associates and if you are intent on going after Pirrha yourself, you need something that can be aimed easily and not leave you tunneled in a scope." The Spider explained and Rose gave him a look that he knew meant she wanted the truth and not one of his sugar-coated explanations. "You're Exo friend would not like to know that you had left this place only to die at the hands of the Rifleman alone."

That was a lie, a cover to hide his own concern for her safety and they both knew it, but it was all he was going to give her and so she nodded, taking the weapon and the spare ammo from the box. "Stop teasing Vlad." She told him as she left the room hearing the Spider chuckle fondly as he leant back in his throne, as she left the safe house, he wouldn't stop her going but that didn't mean he wasn't going to watch her.

She let Bing bring her Sparrow to her then swiftly made her way back to Sorik's Cut, slowing down to a stop where she could see the still smoking tower Araskes had used to make her Bomb Engrams and after searching around carefully, she found the bullet she had purposely dropped was gone.

Challenge accepted.

~ "I was beginning to think you'd chickened out of some target practice." ~

Rose dropped into a roll and hide behind a large rock that shattered from the impact of the bullet fired at her.

"Cheap shot." She told the Rifleman, taking out her Hawkmoon and Sunshot from her belt. "You must be really worried about losing." She added.

Silence.

"Worth a try." Rose shrugged, smiling as Bing tagged the Scorn trying to sneak up on her. "Let's dance." She said and swung around from her cover, bullets landing in the faces and heads of every Stalker that dared to try and charge her, two hitting the head of a Wraith before her foot kicked it back into the line of fire from Pirrha as she jumped up onto the roof of a small hut and took down three more Scorn.

"Watch out!" Vakarian cried suddenly, but the warning came too late and a large hand grabbed Arielle by the helm and the Hangman violently threw the Warlock into the jagged side of the Tomb ship with enough force that the impact echoed around the area.

"Ari!" Vakarian cried trying to leave her armour and tend the injuries. "Let me help you!"

"No." She hissed, "Stay inside. You aren't safe outside." She reminded. "Stay inside."

"But you're hurt! Arielle let me heal you!"

"Just do what you can to heal me from inside my armour. Stay inside and don't you dare come out," Arielle ordered and locked her armour around Vakarian, keeping him trapped inside her as she scrambled to try and find safety as the Hangman swung the flail at her, the huge head igniting as it came at her. She braced her feet and brought her arms up to tray and protect herself when she couldn't find cover.

She couldn't stop the scream that was torn from her throat as she was hit by the flat base of the flail, burning through the armour and gauntlets on her skin as she was forced through a wall and a thick layer of rocks, skidded harshly along the floor before jerking to a stop at the edge of a ledge, coughing up blood as she struggled back to her feet. She didn't know where she'd ended up, but there were dark shadows in here and that gave her at least some places to hide while she tried to regain her focus as Vakarian tried to heal her arms from inside her chest armour, gently washing her arms in Light, but his efforts were stalled as Scorn Stalkers and Ravagers flooded the room, all of them easily finding her due to Vakarian's healing attempts.

"Shit." She hissed and grabbed her weapons, slicing through the torso's and necks of the Scorn, forcing herself to move through the pain to stay alive as she fired her shots into the Scorn, picking them off slowly and jumping back to avoid the line of fire that the Hangman sent at her as he stepped out of the corrupted Ether fog, the heavy flail dragging behind him.

"Arielle please! Let me call the others for help! You can't fight this one alone!" Vakarian pleaded, "Please Ari! Please!"

"No." Arielle snapped and after taking shelter in a tight space, she let the Arc Storm inside her fall away and in its place, the Sol Flames began to raise and burn to the surface, filling her with warmth as she tore the tattered remains of her robes off and forced herself to focus on the moment. This wasn't the place or the time to lose her focus and panic. She was alone, and she had no back up on the way, she HAD to survive. Just like she did with the Hive on the moon all those years ago, she had fought off Knights with little more than old bones and then a rusted knife before finally finding a gun to take down the Ogre that had been chasing her the whole time.

She couldn't afford to get lost in planning her next moves, she had to do this as she went, it was risky and almost foreign to her, but she had no choice but to keep her mind clear or risk the full impact of the burning flail.

"I can do this."

~ "King Uldren wants you and your friends dead. I bring him your body and maybe he'll let me keep your Ghost. I can mount it on my wall next to Cayde's." ~ Her opponent taunted, as he passed her hiding place, scanning the area with his scope. ~ "Or sell it to Spider." ~

Bing stayed silent, carefully shifting so he was pressed closer against Rose's body rather than her armour and took comfort as she gently put a hand over his shell, her silent assurance she would protect him. They hadn't spoken a word since they reached this small cavern, they had been silent and careful, though Bing knew Rose was biting her tongue.

Pirrha had made several attempts to use Fool's Banter against Rose, each time pushing and testing for weaknesses, slandering Cayde's name, mocking the Vanguard and his Ghost, calling Rose and her fellow Hunters failures for not all coming after the Baron's sooner, claiming the glory for taking not only the Ghost's life but the Warden Variks' as well and if Rose hadn't been focused on surviving this encounter and winning, she would have fallen into the baits as easily as Araskes had just a few hours before her.

No, Rose had to bite her tongue and keep her temper, she HAD to stay in control of the emotions that were still raw. She couldn't fall for the baits, she couldn't let the anger take hold or she would lose. Pirrha stopped talking and then, just as he moved away, he fell to the ground in a mess of holo matter cubes. A decoy, designed to draw fire out and give snipers away. But this time it had failed, Rose hadn't used a bullet to attack, but her knife and then she lightly tossed something up from the palm of her hand, as if summoning her Ghost and just as she hoped the empty shell Bing had once used shattered as a bullet ripped through it.

"WHAT?" Pirrha demanded and then roared as a bullet smashed into his face, forcing him to roll into cover and clutch his face, cursing in broken Fallen.

Rose didn't stop to boast or remark on the minor victory, she had to stay focused. One shot wouldn't kill Pirrha, his armour was thick and his helm was reinforced to protect the equipment she knew he used to keep himself safe when he lined up his shots. She moved from one hiding place to another, Sunshot and Hawkmoon firing one after the other into the Scorn as they tried to slow her down in order to buy Pirrha time to get back up and line his next shot.

It skimmed behind Rose's helm and Rose twisted at the hips, holstering the Sunshot and grabbing the Stalker that had tried to hit her with its mace only to be kicked backwards and a bullet shot through its head, Rose dragged the lifeless corpse with her and used it to block the shots from a Lurker as she lined up the Sunshot and fired twice as Pirrha bolted into his new position, catching his torso and shoulder before kicking the Stalker into the arms of a jumping Screeb while she ran for her own cover slipping into it without being seen.

Silently, she cupped a hand around Bing and felt him shiver in her armour. "I'll get you a new shell, I promise." She whispered to him.

"Thank you." He responded just as softly.

~ "You will pay for this," ~

"If you can't win a challenge, don't set one."

A bullet skimmed the rocks a few yards from her and Rose noticed it was off to the right, wanting to test the thought that came to her she shifted and dared to peek out from her cover, watching another Decoy stalk past her by the real Pirrha was stood up at the far end of the room, leant against the rocks and slowly sweeping his scope around the area his shot had struck. She ducked back into cover and waited, hearing the Scorn search for her just beyond the tiny pocket of rocks she had slipped into, listening as the Corrupted Ether gave a faint, distance echoing whirl that moved swiftly around the room, jumping right over her hiding place before coming to a stop close to her.

She carefully brought her sniper rifle from her back, quietly bringing the scope to her eye and very carefully, very quietly, stood up and let the cross hairs of her scope line up with the back of Pirrha's head.

"Smile."

Pirrha looked right at her.

Vakarian couldn't break out of the locked armour and nothing could break into the armour unless Arielle allowed it. It kept him safe, even if the armour was damaged and dented out of shape, the Ghost would be safe from harm. Only if Arielle died would Vakarian be released. The Hangman seemed to know this and was deliberately taking his times with their fight, Arielle had realized he was deliberately aiming to miss her with his whole of the flail, the flames and spikes of the weapon was enough to burn her skin and break bones.

He allowed her Ghost only seconds to heal what he could before he charged with surprising speed and swung the flail at her again, forcing her to run as the cover was shattered slowly leaving her with nowhere to hide from his assault, all the while, her blood stained the floor and her body begged her to stop, struggling to keep clear vision as blood slowly dripped from her brow. Her helmet had shattered from around her face a while back now, the flail had slammed right into the back of her head and while Vakarian had managed to heal the gaping gash there, he hadn't managed to transmat in a new helmet.

"Ari please!" Vakarian pleaded again. "Please! You need proper healing!"

She shook her head, she couldn't let him out. She knew what the Hangman would do to him if she let him out. The Hangman would torture him, like he had the Servitors from the House of Wolves, like he had the Dregs he'd docked and anyone else who had been handed to him. She couldn't let that happen to her Ghost.

"Please!"

"No." She hissed softly as she moved and rolled into the shelter of another shadow. "You aren't safe outside my armour." She repeated.

"If you die the armour will unlock and he'll have me anyway! Arielle please!" Vakarian begged, "Let me call for help!"

"N-" the word became a pained scream as spikes and fire tore into her back, throwing Arielle forwards with the momentum of the impact and then, with the bite of the barbed spikes on the flail, Arielle was pulled and violently tossed through another wall of metal and rocks and then rolling violently over the jagged floor before she came to a stop, violently couching up blood even as Vakarian struggled to bathe her in light from within her broken armour.

It didn't work the way he wanted it too, the Light couldn't heal her without being projected over her rather than just over certain areas in short bursts like a bullet wound or knife injury.

"Arielle please!" He begged again.

"No!" Arielle insisted, only to gag as a powerful hand snatched her neck and lifted her easily, slamming her already broken body into the wall, fracturing her collar bone and left shoulder under his palm.

A faint gunshot quickly followed by a second one caught the Hangman's attention for a moment and Arielle grabbed the handle of the Dawn Blade in her right hand and swung the blade at the Hangman's chest and arm, forcing him to step back enough that he dropped her to the ground, though she didn't have the strength to balance on her own and used the wall as a brace to keep herself up right as she swept the sword across the air in front of her, willing the flames of Sol light to burn hotter and hotter in hopes of driving the Hangman off.

It wasn't working, she could see him still stood over her, taking the strikes from the flaming sword but seeming to take little if any injury from it at all.

"When I go down." She wheezed, "get out of here. I'll wait for you." She told her Ghost.

"I won't leave you Arielle!" Vakarian proclaimed, "Never! I won't leave you alone with this monster! I won't!"

A hand lashed out from the flames, striking Arielle across the face with a powerful backhand smack that sent her sliding along the wall and floor, unable to stand upright any longer she collapsed the ground even as she fought to get back up, the flaming sword lost on the ground and crumbling away into ashes as the Hangman stomped on it, the smoke clearing fully to show he was burnt badly to his chest and upper body, but otherwise he was unharmed.

He approached her with heavy steps, a look of pure joy twisted upon his face as he bent and grabbed Arielle up by her throat again, the flail forgotten as he held her up high and began to squeeze around her throat with both hands.

Vakarian was talking, pleading with her, begging her to let him help but she couldn't let him out yet, she'd have to release him at the last second, or the Hangman would have his way with her Ghost. She'd wait until her body could take no more and then she would release him and Vakarian would obey her order and run, he'd run and hide until it was safe and then, like he had before, he would search her out and bring her back.

Pirrha fell to his knees, struggling to focus as the helmet that had given him his sight fell broken to the ground, leaving him blind. Then came the second shot, right between his sightless eyes and he fell back into the darkness.

The Scorn that had been around him scattered and ran away, seeing their Baron dead while Rose steadied herself against the rocky wall for a moment, her helmet gone for the moment as she wretched behind the rock, one hand over her heart as if willing the rapid beats to slow and calm as she tried to keep the tears from falling. It was done, the Baron that had taken the Light away from Cayde and left him mortal was dead and couldn't snatch the lives of anyone else. And yet she didn't feel relief, joy or prideful in her deed, she felt empty and ashamed. Killing the Barons would not undo their deed nor would their deaths somehow revive Cayde and Watson; she knew this from the start and yet, she had become lost in the moment of killing and instead of shooting to kill the first time, she had deliberately shot to knock the helmet off.

She had done something that made her no better than Pirrha and left him, however briefly, weak, helpless and vulnerable, just as he had left Cayde-6 to the mercilessness of his fellow Barons and Uldren in the end.

It sickened her.

"Rose?" Bing asked quietly and she nodded to show she'd heard him. "You aren't like them."

"I shouldn't have done it."

"We all have moments of weakness," Bing reminded, and Rose looked to the ground. "Cayde use to say that only the heartless could go into battles without feeling emotions, that only the heartless could be cold and unfeeling when they killed."

"But no one is a perfect paragon of the light, we all have instances where we, where we struggle to see the line between Light and Dark, times when the clear lines become blurred and thin and we question whose side we're on." Rose recited the rest of the speech, remembering when the Cayde of the other world had told her the same thing, after the first time she'd killed a Fallen Captain with her knife, having been jumped by a small band of House Devils during a simple scouting mission.

"I missed him." She admitted as she looked down at her gloves.

"We all miss him." Bing chimed softly.

Something suddenly made the chamber shake and Rose's helmet snapped back into place over her head as she reloaded the rifle in her hands. "What was that?"

Bing didn't answer, quickly scanning the area and then with a worried gasp he marked a spot on her map. "Go!"

Rose moved, adrenalin kicking in as she raced around the tight maze-like caves and tunnels until she came to the place Bing had marked, seeing the huge Baron holding the limp, bloody and broken body of a Warlock, she dropped to one knee, leveled the shot and fired a shot.

Arielle heard the shot clearly, her eyes blurring as she was dropped to the ground and another shot rang out, knocking the Hangman away from her as a third shot was fire, and a fourth and fifth then more came, hand cannon fire, two of them, each shot ripping into the face of the Hangman and forcing him to stumble and stagger backwards.

She weakly twisted her head to the source of the shots and watched as a Hunter dropped into the room from a hole in the wall, two hand cannons in her hands as she fired and fired and fired, forcing Reksis Vahn away from her until at last the bullets ran out but the Hunter was not done, she snatched the air at her side and spun with Arc Light, smashing the Staff into the Hangman's body over and over again until the Hangman gave out a blood chilling bellow and fell to the ground, a charred and scorched heap.

The Hunter came to her then and a Ghost was brought out of armour, a familiar Ghost.

"Rose?"

"Shut up and keep still," Rose told her, the worry in her voice was as clear as the shots Arielle had heard while Bing poured Light into her body, at last mending and soothing the broken bones and torn skin, numbing the pain enough that Arielle could at last see clearly again, "Where is Vakarian?"

"She won't let me out." Vakarian explained. "Please Rose, help her." He pleaded, struggling to do even the smallest healing he could.

"We can't stay here." Rose said and tried to be gentle as she heaved Arielle up to her feet again and however weakly Arielle tried to walk on her own, Rose held her up and helped her stumble and stagger through the tunnels and out into the still cold air of night, taking a moment to give Arielle chance to catch her breath and then continued to lead her to a new tunnel, following it until they came to a room and Rose nodded, laying Arielle on a cot before turning around and closing the door behind them.

"Where are we?" Arielle asked, trying to sit up only to struggle even as Vakarian came from her armour at last and began to flood her body with light.

"A stash house, Spider's people use them as rest stops if they get caught short." Rose told her bringing over a few small boxes from the shelves. "I used them once upon a time too it seems." She added.

"What do you mean?" Arielle asked as Rose began to carefully wash the blood away from her arms while Bing slowly feed Light into her arms.

"Turns out that I was born here in this world. My childhood was spent here on the Shore and Spider helped me survive, until I was old enough to join the Reef Guard." Rose explained, carefully wrapping Arielle's left arm in bandages, they felt damp with something and Arielle looked down to see Rose was soaking the bandages in a small bowl of some liquid.

"What are you doing?"

"The injuries from that Flail can't just be healed by Light, you'll risk infection without this ointment." Rose explained, tying the bandages off before moving to her right arm. "I'll do the same to your back, just to make sure you don't get an infection there too."

"And then?" Arielle asked.

"Then we talk." Rose said, "Unless you're still angry at everyone and refusing to talk to us?" she asked.

"I was never angry with you." Arielle said.

"No, you were angry with everyone else. Vlad for hurting and wanted Uldren dead, Orion for not taking your side even though he's your husband, Ikora for allowing me and Vlad to come here, Petra for not telling you everything and the Queen for doing what she always does." Rose listed off, tying the bandages off around Arielle's right arm and moved behind her.

Arielle was silent for a time, just letting Rose work the ointment into her back carefully, then drape the bandages over the deep cuts and burns. What could she say? Did she really have to say anything? No, Rose didn't deserve being treated like she wasn't there and the Hunter had just saved her life. With a light sigh, Arielle glanced back at Rose and asked. "What has Vlad told you so far? About us before you came along?"

"Nothing I didn't already know." Rose said, "he's angry about what happened to Cayde, but he's not the type to trash talk his friends."

"Friends." Arielle repeated, "Are we still friends?"

"I count you as my friend, even though I don't understand why you're set on protecting Uldren." Rose admitted.

"Why is it so hard to understand? We don't know the whole truth about this situation, its wrong of anyone to just take heat of the moment facts and go off hunting for blood."

"But its ok to blame another world when you can't accept the facts given to you in hand?"

Arielle would have argued but she had no right and she knew it, "You're bolder."

"No, just tired of seeing people snap and shout at each other." Rose said, "You once told me that if one Awoken couldn't talk to another about their problems, we were lost as a people. Maybe its time you and I had one of those long talks again?"

"I doubt you'd understand much of my troubles." Arielle said.

Rose sighed and stood, putting the leftover bandages away, "You know, everyone keeps saying that to me lately," she said, "Vlad says he can't understand why you insist on saving Uldren when he killed Cayde. Kuji and Grandpa can't understand why we're the only ones here, Orion can't understand why you won't talk to him."

"Orion's here?" Arielle asked.

"He arrived yesterday. Said he would only help us hunt the Barons, but he won't get involved with Uldren." Rose explained, "And unlike everyone else, I understand why."

"Oh?" Arielle asked.

"He isn't taking sides because he's trapped between two of the most stubborn and thick-headed people alive right now. Vlad, his best friend and brother in arms since their younger days, and you, his wife and the woman he chose to spend his life with, despite the countless times Uldren's made it clear he's had a thing for you since long before I came into the picture."

Arielle blinked, realizing she couldn't scold Rose for that statement because it was true, she sighed heavily. "Alright maybe you do understand some things, but not all."

"So, explain it to me." Rose pleaded, "Don't talk to me like I'm just some Hunter out for Uldren's blood. Talk to me as another Awoken, tell me what I'm missing and help me understand this."

"Is that all we are?" Arielle asked, and the hurt in her voice had Rose regretting her words, her mind racing about which words had hurt her friend. Arielle's glowing eyes met Rose's, "Is there nothing else between us, Rose? No friendship or love? Just a place we were born in, that neither of us remember...or remember well?"

"What?" Rose asked, "I don't-No. We are friends and yes, we are both Awoken but, but why does it matter what we are right now?" She went on, confusion clear in her voice as she tried to understand Arielle's question.

Pain flittered across the Warlock's face and Rose blanched at the sight of tears burning in her orange eyes. Arielle's shoulders sagged and shook as a sob escaped her. Then another. Suddenly Arielle's sobs were echoing around and within Rose; she'd never seen the Warlock so broken.

"This isn't about our stupid classes or revenge or... Or anything else! This is about friendship and trust! About who we were, who we are and what we will become!" Arielle's anguished gaze met the Hunter's, "Can't you see us falling apart, Rose? The strings that tie us together are taut, pulled so tightly that eventually they will snap. Who will we be then?"

Rose didn't answer instead she watched the Warlock with her own look of pain and in the moments of silence, Arielle pulled herself together.

"I lived on the Reef since my rebirth, chosen by the Traveler to be a Guardian. I arrived confused and unsure of what had happened to me, driven only by the need to be on the Reef and despite the warnings from Vakarian that Guardians were not often welcomed to the Reef I was welcomed by the Sovs. They knew my name, even though I didn't know theirs at the time and yet, they knew of me and so I stayed with them. I trained with them, dined with them, and I loved them. For years, I was happy and I felt almost like I belonged there. But when I found out about the being Queen Regent, I ran. I was betrayed."

"Because they plotted behind your back." Rose whispered, "They tried to plan your life for you, but that's not what you wanted." Arielle nodded.

"I loved them like family and yes, there was a time I wanted more from Uldren, when I had more from him, but we never really clicked right when we were together. And... I didn't know it then, but... sometimes when he looked at me... I felt like he wasn't seeing me, not as you do, not as a Guardian. He saw someone else where I stood, someone I had been before. We never talked about it because I was afraid to bring it up. I loved him and I loved working with him, being his equal, the Sword to his Shield. I lost my temper with them when their plan was revealed, and I saw part of him die that day Rose, but I was so angry that they had tried to plan my life that I ignored it. I moved to the Tower to train with Ikora, I trained to be the very best I could be, I mastered the storm within me to the point where I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ikora as an equal and train the younger Warlocks alongside her, but I still didn't truly feel I belonged. Then one day, she sent me to the Hellmouth to rescue a two-man team." A ghost of a smile crossed her face, "Vlad and Orion had pissed off an Ogre and were out of rockets and grenades."

Rose chuckled, it was a scene she could easily picture given how eagerly Vlad jumped into danger and how Orion had been so trigger happy in her first days amongst this team. "And from then on you were a Fireteam."

The Warlock nodded, "We were unstoppable, Rose. No one held a candle to us. Not in the competitive arenas, the Vanguard were singing our praises and for the first time since I'd left the Reef, I belonged. Nothing could take that from me. I felt I was home, like I had found the missing part of a puzzle inside me." Her eyes narrowed, "And then the House of Wolves revolted. Mara opened the Reef for the Guardians and asked for our help to take down Skolas for his crimes. I think she knew I would come back, but not that I would be returning with my Fireteam, my friends. I loved showing them my home and for a while, I thought it would be alright. I could serve the Queen by hunting the Wolves and at the same time, I could be with my friends. It worked for a time, we were there when Skolas made an attempt to use the Vex tech to invade the Reef, and it was our team that helped capture Skolas, I was there not as the Sword but as Arielle the Stormdancer of the Tower. I was praised by both the Reef and the City for my efforts, as were Vlad and Orion. Then... I became the Sword once more, and I ended Skolas's existence in the Prison, just me, Rose, no fire team, no Warden to watch the show, just me and him and I killed him with my own hands."

"And in doing that," Rose realized, "You brought the time you could have in both places to an end."

Arielle nodded. "I had been two people and it had been fine from a while, Skolas was my reason for staying on the Reef and the reason I hunted the Wolves with my team. I was sure it would keep working that way even with Skolas gone, there were bigger threats than him to face and the Reef and City made good allies. I was sure it could stay that way. Until Uldren changed my mind. He wanted me to return, to come back and be the Sword at Mara's side because I had never stopped. He was right Rose, I have never stopped being the Sword, but I couldn't return to Reef and Uldren… Not when I had fallen in love with Orion. I left again and stayed on the tower since then, only ever going to the Reef to run a few rounds in the Prison of Elders. Even when Crota and his forces moved on Saturn and the Guardians and Awoken stood together against them, I did not return to the Reef to stay because my place wasn't with Uldren anymore."

Rose nodded, remembering the day she had first been brought to the Reef, conversation they'd had in Arielle's ship about Orion and his attempts to save as much Glimmer as possible in an attempt to prove himself not to Arielle but to Uldren. "Bing really hit the nail on the head when he said Orion was trying to prove himself to a Prince." She said and Arielle nodded.

"I didn't intend on ever going back to the Reef, back to the Sovs after the Hive had been pushed back, but you already know how that part of my story goes." Arielle said.

Rose nodded, "I get spat out of a vex gate into the Vault of Glass and you, Orion and Vlad save me and Bing, then we all go on a big adventure, kill a bunch of big bad guys and then I get sucked back to the other world." She summarized briefly. "But that doesn't explain this situation we're in now Arielle, I understand the people, I understand the ties and connections, I understand that it's not about race or class, but I don't understand why it's gotten so hard for everyone to sit and talk to each other." She said shaking her head. "If it's not about race or classes or who we were before this, why can't you and Vlad stop arguing and just talk like we are?"

"Because Vlad is set on vengeance for Cayde. He has always been of the mind set that Hunters should look out for each other and while yes, he has always watched our backs, but he and Cayde were as close as father and son, this has hurt him and I know, Stars I know he's not dealing with the loss but letting blood lust for ravage guild him rather than thinking it through carefully is just going to make matters worse. But if anyone tries to tell him that he will lash out, he will argue his point until he either wins the argument by sheer stubbornness or the other side accepts that he's right and no one else's opinion matters." Arielle said. "I know Cayde's death hit you hard too, I know that you've seen him die now twice but you've somehow stayed clear minded and you haven't let rage consume you like it has Vlad."

Rose flinched at her words, unable to hold Arielle's gaze any longer she turned away. "I did."

Arielle blinked at the admission, "What?"

"Today, before I found you I was hunting Pirrha the Rifleman on my own. I saw him when Kuji and I went after Araskes and again when we'd defeated her, he had me in his crosshairs and he was close enough to have killed me, but instead of shooting me out right he let me see him and then vanished. Snipers only do that when they lay down a challenge to another sniper so to answer that challenge, I left a bullet in the sand and I knew… Arielle I knew I was doing something stupid but at the time I didn't care. He was the one who shot Watson and left Cayde vulnerable to the other Barons, I was angry and I didn't care what anyone else thought, I didn't care if I died over and over again, I'd made up my mind when Spider told us about each of the Barons that I was going to be the one who finished Pirrha." Rose shook her head. "I knew it wasn't right and I knew, even if I did finish him off, it wouldn't bring back Cayde or Watson but all the same, I let it get to me and I let the anger take over me."

Rose stopped, trying to get the memory of Pirrha's blind eyes looking right at her as the bullet flew at him, shaking her head. "I know there are two sides of every battle and I know there is a line between what is and is not acceptable, but I never thought it would be so hard to see where those lines are." She admitted, "I don't know how you did it when we faced Skolas Arielle, and to be honest I never want to cross that line again, but I know when we go after Uldren, no matter what the circumstances or people with us, I don't know if I could stop Vlad taking the shot I can't make."

"You won't kill Uldren?" Arielle asked.

"How can I?" Rose asked, "Killing him doesn't undo what he's done, killing him won't give us back Cayde, it'll serve no purpose safe pissing off the Queen and you. I've seen you and Vlad go at each other, but he told me that wasn't even a minor scuffle compared to the fights you have before and no matter how I go over scenarios in my head one of you gets hurt by the choices made and we don't even know the whole truth of the situation."

Arielle watched Rose struggle to find her words for a moment or two before shaking her head. "I don't know how we got this way Arielle, and I don't know how to make it right."

"And what is 'right' in your mind?" Arielle asked.

"Right is when no one is arguing, when everyone is able to sit and talk like adults no matter who or what they are and just make things work without someone worrying someone else is out to back stab them. I had enough of that in the other world Arielle, people not trusting each other, three clear and separate classes with no mixing. That is what lead to the deaths of everyone in that world and I'm scared that is what's happening here. That sooner or later someone in going to snap and the whole team is going to fall apart."

Arielle shook her head, "It won't get that far, not from just the six of us here, but you must know that nothing stays the same forever." She said. "Everything changes as we grow and mature. It's foolish to hold onto the past because we are afraid of the future."

"Is it foolish to hope that just maybe I can find a way to fix this mess?" Rose asked. "You said before you felt you belonged with the Sovs before you found out they were plotting behind your back, and then that you belonged with your fireteam. I only feel I belong when the people closest to me aren't at each other's throats and arguing. Is it foolish of me to want to find the way to make that fighting stop and keep the feeling of belonging just a little longer?"

Arielle struggled to find an answer to that, not because she couldn't give an answer but because if she did, she feared the result her words would have Rose's own outlook on this whole mess of a situation. Like her, Rose was trying to work things out in her head, trying to find reasons and answers rather than blindly searching for Uldren to take revenge for the death of her Vanguard, but unlike her, Rose couldn't let go of the dwindling hope that just maybe a way could be found to make things right in the world around her and seek the next best outcome.

A quiet ping from the small terminal made Arielle tense suddenly though Rose pressed a few keys and the screen showed a typed message rather than a video call. "What's happened?" She asked.

Vlad was trying, oh he was trying not to snap at everyone.

He'd been woken up when one of Spider's people had walked past the room, carrying a large crate of something that clinked and clanked whenever it moved, and had been about to go back to sleep when he realized Rose's Cot was vacant and her weapons were missing.

Orion, Grandpa and Kuji woke up hearing him arguing with Spider, who had calmly told them that Rose had gone to hunt Pirrha alone and he had not yet heard from her, though his associates had reported both Pirrha and Reksis Vahn were both dead, though in the case of Reksis Vahn, it seemed an Awoken had been severely injured, given the amount of blood that his people had found.

Vlad was out of the Safe house before Spider could finish, Kuji racing after him, while Orion agreed to stay behind just in case Rose came back on her own while Grandpa went to make sure Vlad and Kuji didn't die, following a faint signal towards Four-Horn Gulch.

~ "Ooh, what luck! What Fortune! New Playmates!" ~ A cackling voice taunted over their commlinks, ~ "To begin- A Gift! A Gift just for you! From ME. Good Friend Kaniks! Best friend Kaniks! Go, go, go! Open Gift!" ~

The 'gift' Kaniks was talking about was a large Fallen crate, curdle decorated with a small knotted cable in a very poor attempt at a bow.

"We don't have time for this." Vlad hissed furiously as he looked around. "Rose is-"

"We don't know if it is Rose whose hurt," Grandpa stated calmly. "It could have been another Awoken, someone trying to find safety that the Hangman found."

"Or it COULD be Rose whose hurt and we need to find her!" Vlad snarled.

"Rose would have called us if she needed help." Kuji said as he dared to step forwards and look around the area, then cursed as the crate that had been their 'gift' shattered open and released a dozen Screebs as corrupted fog began to flood the area.

~ "SURPRIIIISE!" ~ Kaniks' crazed laughter echoed over the comms. ~ "Gift is DEATH!" ~

"Well shit." Kuji growled, jumping to avoid the Screebs and unloading his guns. "Three o'clock high!" he yelled out and Grandpa heaved his rocket launcher over his shoulder and fired it at Kaniks before he could toss a bomb at them.

"Ah-ah-ah! Game goes on! Close your eye and COUNT DOWN!" The crazed Baron laughed and faded into a pillar of corrupted ether and a familiar alarm echoed through the area.

"Splinter Mine!" Grandpa warned as the device hovered above the cables that held Four-Horn Gulch to the rest of the Shore.

"Grampa boost me!" Kuji yelled and the Titan turned back to face Kuji, dropped to one knee and braced his hands, creating a step for Kuji's foot as the Human ran at the Exo and let the Titan heave him up and over the broken edge of the rocks towards the mine.

"More Scorn." Vlad hissed.

"So vent your anger on them!" Grandpa told him, already unloading shots from his slugs from his shotgun into the Scorn that charged towards them.

Once on the mine, Kuji ripped a panel off the top and began to twist and change the wiring and connections inside with practiced ease, "Yellow to blue, blue to red, red to yellow, twist the green around the black make a loop, feed the power back into the loop."

"Don't forget the bypass," Valmont said as he marked the dummy wires and false switches so Kuji didn't accidently blow them all up. "One minute ten seconds til detonation."

"Almost got it." Kuji assured already carefully running a bypass. "Almost… done!" He yelled jumping off the Mine as it lost power and fell from the air, harmlessly vanishing into the fog around the Shore.

~ "Where am I hide?" ~ the Baron asked over their comms. ~ "Ugly, stupid Cabal can knowing, but not you!" ~ He giggled madly.

"This guy's fucked in the head." Grandpa said.

"He's called the 'Mad' Bomber for a reason." Vlad growled.

"She's fine Vlad." Grandpa said. "She survived on her own at the start of her life as a Guardian, she can survive this hell hole."

"Then where is she?" Vlad asked.

"Probably doing her own little thing, you and me can just hook up to a terminal and download the memories after a reboot if we are lucky, Awoken and Human minds can't do that. Maybe she took some time out to do that whole meditation stuff Awoken do and see if she could find answers in her past?" the Titan offered and Vlad seemed to think about it. "Look, we deal with Kaniks, and then we go and ask the Spider to check any other of his little hiding holes and see if Rose is hiding out in one of them. A guy like him is bound to have more than one safe place to hide."

"And if she isn't?"

"Then we go hunting Barons in force until we find her." Grandpa said.

Vlad didn't respond for a while and Kuji felt he could literally cut the tension in the air with a knife, then Vlad nodded and slapped a new clip of ammo into his hand cannon. "Sovereign, locate the nearest Cabal activity." He instructed his Ghost and after a moment a marker appeared on their maps. "Let's do this."

"Very hot tempered." Orion heard the Spider said as he watched the screen on his throne, apparently viewing the progress of Vlad and the others via some spy camera or other device that littered the Shore. "I wonder what she sees in him."

"Far better things that she sees in you." Petra said. "You know where Rose is Spider, you must do! Why haven't you told us where?"

"Because she is in no danger and she is no longer in my employment. I have no more control over her than you do and if she wishes to return, I have no doubt she will do so in her own time." The large Vandal dismissed, carefully turning the shell in his hands again. "After all, you Awoken share this, ridiculous trait of bearing great emotions for one another, even when you try to hide it. The Little flower will come back to her Exo in time, but it will not be at my command or yours."

"And what is it about emotions that you find so ridiculous?" Orion asked, "Didn't the Fallen once know of such things before the Whirlwind?"

The Spider chuckled. "We knew of them, but unlike the creatures of this galaxy, we were not as fancy free and lose with ourselves when it came to matters of the heart. Once you took a mate you stayed with them. Only the death of one of the two would release the survivor back into the breeding groups." He recalled leaning back into the throne. "Humans, Awoken and even some Exos spend their time chasing one another around claiming to 'love' each other, yet only a rare few of them stay with one mate faithfully, its amusing to watch as you waste your time running around in such ways though fewer and fewer of you ever seem intent on creating a brood."

"Love isn't just about having children." Petra remarked.

"Bah, whatever it is you claim to have for one another and those around you is of little interest to me. My observations of those who come to my Shore has been limited in all my time here and from what I have witnessed, the emotions of your people can be easily manipulated to build you up and then just as easily tear you down again." The Spider said. "And amazingly, you allow it to happen to yourselves over and over again."

"Emotions only play a small factor in the betrayal of a person." Orion said, "personal views, values, beliefs, understandings and other barriers can factor into a relationship falling apart, even if that relationship is not one of love."

"The voice of experience?" The Spider asked Orion.

"No, the voice of common sense." He corrected. "You call Vlad hot tempered because he comes off as an angry, uncaring type who is focused on only one thing. I call him a dumb fuck for going off on his revenge quest with Rose without thinking about it full. Rose sees him hurt and looking for someone to blame. It's easy to judge when you are looking in on someone's life without knowing the whole story behind the actions of others."

The Spider chuckled. "Seems the Awoken wisdom is not strictly gifted to females." There was a sudden bleep from the terminal on his throne and he looked back to the screen. "Your friends have entered the caves above the Diaviks Mine, it seems Kaniks plans to try and kill them either with his own bombs or to bring the mine down on them."

"He'll fail." Orion said, "Kuji's a bomb defusal expert, Grandpa's a literal talking tank and Vlad's a crack shot." He smiled.

"Why do you call him Grandpa?" Petra asked. "Is that his real name?"

Orion chuckled and shook his head. "Grandpa is the name he gave us, only a few people know his real name."

"WHEEEE! Now the true game begin!" Kaniks cackled wildly as he tossed bombs at the three Guardian as they ducked into cover and shot down the Screebs that charged them.

Grandpa yanked the pump of his shot gun back with every shot his fired. "Anyone else getting annoyed with these little fuckers?"

"They make a nice big bang when they blow up." Kuji said and used a rock as a vantage point to fire on Kaniks as he tried to toss more bombs at them, only for the devices to go off in his hands. "That was for Cayde!"

Instead of pain however, the Mad Bomber cackled with sick glee. "Friend Cayde beg and beg and beg! 'Mercy please Prince Uldren!' Sad!" he boasted in a poor imitation of Cayde-6. "Cayde boring boy to kill!"

"Fucker!" Vlad snarled charging the Bomber.

"Vlad don't!" Grandpa tried to warn only for his words to fall on deaf audios as Vlad pulled the Void Bow tight and released his arrows, tethering the Screebs and Kaniks to one place, Screebs struggling to scurry away from Kaniks before their bodies were torn apart from their own explosive nature.

"You think you HERO?" Kaniks laughed wildly, even as he spat-up blood, the Void arrow that had tethered him slowly fading from his chest where he had been struck. "Joke at you!" He proclaimed, throwing one last bomb into Vlad's chest with enough force it erupted on impact and knocked Vlad back into Grandpa as the Mad Bomber clicked a device in his robotic lower right hand as the Screebs around him erupted and finished what the Void arrow had begun.

At the same the cave around them began to shake and smaller explosions began to go off around them. "Chair reaction, the smaller bombs will bring this whole place down on us!" Kuji warned then yelled and jumped back as the way they had used to get into the cave collapsed in front of him. "Oh shit…"

"Damn it!" Grandpa yelled, heaving the Exo Hunter over his shoulder. "Move your ass Kuji!" He yelled over the explosions and kicked a lose bolder aside to make them a way out of the cave they were in.

Kuji raced after the Titan, following him through the exploiting tunnels and past the scrambling Scorn until the floor gave out under them and they fell into a place he recognized from his hunt of the Trickster with Rose. "This way!" He yelled, grabbing Grandpa's free arm and pulling him down a passage moments before the room was consumed by flames and explosions.

"Splinter Mine dead ahead!" Valmont warned. "Fifty seconds 'til detonation!"

"I got it!" Kuji assured.

"You crazy?! We gotta get out of here!" Grandpa yelled.

"If I defuse this one we can stop the Shore blowing up with the rest of this place!" Kuji told him, already heaving himself up onto the top of the mine. "Cover me!" He yelled as Raiders began to fire on him.

"Fuck!" Grandpa growled, dropping Vlad into cover as the Hunter Exo began to regain consciousness and heaved his rocket launcher back over his shoulder, firing at the Raiders as Kuji tore the top of the mine off and began his work.

"Thirty seconds." Valmont said as his Guardian worked swiftly with the messy components of the bomb. Switching, twisting, cutting and rewiring the device with out a sound. "Twenty seconds." Kuji was silent as he continued to work, using his fingers to pinch one wire and twist another around it and link it into another circuit, then ripped the whole length of another wire out, replacing it with a different one and linking it to a separate part of the device. "Fifteen seconds."

"Kuji?" Vlad called in worry as the mine began to crackle and spark.

"Almost got it." Kuji assured, cutting another wire and rewiring two more, using his knife to pry open another panel and started the bypass.

"Ten seconds." Valmont warned as the mine started the vibrate and heat up under Kuji's hands.

"Kuji get out of there!" Grandpa yelled. "NOW!"

"Almost." Kuji breathed and flicked one last wire. "Done!" he yelled as the Splinter mine gave a faltering sputter and then gave a fading whine as it powered down and landed uselessly on the ground as the explosions and bombs finally came to an end.

"Do you want me to tell you how long we had left?" Valmont asked.

"No." Grandpa and Vlad said together, and Kuji chuckled, chasing after the two as they left the mine and began the long walk back to the Safe house via the Jetsam of Saturn.

"You boys really should relax more, I've never let a mine go-WHA!" He began to boast proudly only to yelped as he almost fell off the edge of the makeshift bridge between them and the huge Tomb ship.

Grandpa grabbed him by the shoulder armour and easily set the human hunter down again on solid ground. "I thought you Hunters had the reflexes of fucking cats?" The Titan teased.

"Rule thirty-eight." Vlad chuckled. "Never boast while on unsteady ground, you fall of your ass or on your face."

"Rule five." Grandpa said turning to Vlad. "Never charge a Fallen with more than two arms without first making sure they're not holding something in their hands that can hurt you."

Vlad winced, but said nothing, Grandpa was right to point out his mistake in charging at Kaniks so blindly, it was a rookie mistake that could have very well cost Vlad his life had Grandpa and Kuji not been there to help him and no doubt ruined any chance he had of finding Rose.

"Listen to me Vladimir-66." Grandpa said and put a hand on his fellow Exo's shoulder as they kept walking. "I know you're hurting, and I know its hard to focus on something besides that hurt right now, but if you keep going like this, you're gonna get yourself and anyone with you hurt and I know that's not what you want."

"I know." Vlad said, his shoulder dropping with a heavy weight. "I'm sorry."

"It ain't me you gotta say sorry to big fella." The Titan said lightly shoving the Hunter ahead of him as they walked through the shadow of the Hive Tomb ship. "You got a girlfriend worried sick about you and a team mate to talk this shit out with. I'm only here to make sure when shit goes down it doesn't get everyone killed."

"What makes you think you could stop me and Arielle when we go at each other?" Vlad asked, though he knew how a fight between him and Arielle could go either way, if it included Grandpa he would be a fool to even think he'd win outright.

Kuji shook his head. "Vlad my friend, you do not want to know the answer to that question." He assured then paused as the ground began to shake under their feet. "Um, guys?" he asked looking to see Grandpa and Vlad were both also stood still for the moment as the ground around them trembled and shook violently.

"GO!" Grandpa ordered and the three took off running as the floor crumbled away around them, something sharp grabbing Grandpa's boots and titan mark tightly and yanking him down into the shifting earth as Vlad gave a string of curses as his cloak and legs were grabbed and yanked down after him.

"Nope!" Kuji yelled as he jumped and ran over the crumbling ground, "Orion! Jetsam of Saturn! Hurry-AH!" he tried to call over the comms only to fall as a tight hand snatched his ankle and began to pull him down. "Orion do you hear me? Orion!" He kept calling clawing the ground with his fingers and kicking with all his strength to try and fight off his captor.

It didn't help, only brought more clawed hands up from the ground that grabbed him tighter and tighter, pulling him into the ground and leaving only the claw marks from the ground.

Orion looked at Spider. "I know you have some way to find Rose, so while I go to the Jetsam of Saturn from here, you send her a message and tell her to meet me there with as much ammo she can carry."

"Are all Titan's so bossy?" The Spider asked.

"Let me make this clear." Orion said, "Rose likes Vlad, a lot. And if Rose finds out you didn't help when he was in need, she will be unhappy. And the last time Rose was unhappy, the one who caused it didn't leave the room walking. Get it?" He asked cracking his shoulders and neck with ease.

The Spider chuckled. "Go do what you will Titan, the Little flower will be along when she's ready." He assured with a small dismissive wave of one of his lower hands. Petra watched Orion leave and then watched as Spider rapidly typed a message on his terminal and send it off to somewhere she didn't know and then leant back in his throne and seemed to wait for something to happen.

Then, after five minutes the terminal bleeped, and the Spider gave an amused chuckle as he read the apparent response.

Orion slowed his Sparrow to a stop at the edge of the Jetsam of Saturn, letting Wrex scan the area and show him what he was about to go into, Thrall and Acolytes were crawling and pacing around in tight patrols, and somewhere there was an Ogre, he could hear the heavy stomps of the giant's steps and the deep growling that could only be an Ogre.

"Where's Rose?" Wrex asked seconds before a gunshot rang out and a Knight fell to the ground. "Never mind." He added as more shots rang out and the Hive charged towards the shooter's location. The air filled with static and Orion saw a familiar storm of Arc Energy tear through the Hive with ease and practiced precision.

"Arielle's with Rose?" Wrex asked.

"It does make sense," Orion said, "Rose was with Arielle this whole time it would explain why she didn't comm for any help."

Wrex made a sound of agreement but remained quiet as Orion joined in the efforts to clear out the Hive, shoulder ramming a Knight right into Arielle's cross hairs while Rose kicked a Thrall off a broken ledge of the Tomb ship onto a sharp spike.

Once the Hive had been driven away, Orion nodded to Rose. "You got the word from Spider?"

"Vlad, Kuji and Grandpa got snatched by Hive," Rose nodded, "Bing says that these Hive are different. They have a trace of Ether inside them."

"How is that even possible?" Orion asked as he looked to Arielle. "Can Hive consume Ether?"

"We'll look into it later." Arielle said looking to the Tomb ship. "We need to find the others, before they become Hive food or worse."

Orion was quiet though she knew he wanted to talk to her, she knew no matter how calm his body language was there was concern written all over his face beneath his helmet as he looked at her. She also knew there was uncertainty, confusion and hurt behind his eyes, hurt that she had simply left and chosen to try and help Uldren in whatever way she could while he had been left to suffer to punishment for her leaving. There was no blame in him though, not accusation or anger towards her, just acceptance and understanding that if she wanted him to know, she would tell him in her own time.

Arielle knew he would notice the still clear pain in her stance and the way she favored her right side, as she often did when she was hurt or had recently been revived from death, and when he cocked his head slightly in question she knew he wanted to know how she'd been hurt and if she was ready to keep going. She wanted to tell him what had happened, to tell him everything, but the words died in her throat as quickly as they rose up. What could she tell him? After all the years they'd been together, years of building their lives around each other as a couple, she had run off to try and help a man she claimed she no longer loved, only to relive memories of a time where she had taken his name as a wife…

It was too much to talk about and too much to think about, it would only distract them both. This was not the place or time to have a break down.

Arielle shook her head slightly, "I'll explain later." She said, turning to the Tomb Ship. "We have friends to rescue."

"Alright." Orion nodded. "I'll wait for you." He added and Arielle looked back to him and for a moment they just looked at each other.

Arielle nodded after a few minutes and reloaded her weapons "Let's go."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight.

Shaky ground.

~ "All the Hive here on my Shore are born of a single Brood Queen. In Anânh, traitor to her own kin. She has not been seen on the surface of the Shore since the Tomb Ship crashed here, but I have heard a lot of chatter about this one." ~ The Spider told them via the commlinks as they made their way into the Tomb Ship. ~ "Whispers of the wind suggest that Hiraks the Mindbender has taken this Hive Brood Queen as his Consort. Now, I'm not one to obstruct unholy matrimony but Eliksni Ingenuity paired to Hive Ferocity? No. Not on my doorstep." ~

"You actually sound worried." Rose said as they made their way into Hellrise Canyon, following the path marked by Spider's Coordinates.

"That's surprises you?" Orion asked.

"Spider never sounds worried about anything, usually because he's already got six plans to fix the messes he finds." Rose said.

~ "Your memories return to you with more hints of your past charm little flower. The Hive are an infestation, it starts with one, then before you can deal with the matter there are everywhere upon my Shore, if you cull their numbers, I will consider the deal you owe me." ~ the Vandal offered with a soft chuckle.

"We have Fallen up ahead." Vakarian stated.

~ "They're not mine, Houseless fools trying to scrap a little land for themselves." ~ Spider assured. ~ "Shoot at will." ~

Arielle didn't wait to be told twice and together the trio made their way deeper into Hellrise Canyon, shoot Fallen and Hive as they went only to come to a stop after finding a large wall that didn't fall when Orion fired a rocket at it, nor when they tossed a grenade at it.

"Odd." Vakarian said as he scanned the large Hive worm that lay, struggling to move its huge bulk, somehow surviving without a body somehow, "There are elevated levels of Ether coming from this worm."

The Spider chuckled over the commlinks. ~ "Seems Ether doesn't sit well with the Hive, perhaps the Mindbender is trying to breed out the intolerances." ~

Rose looked at the worm and then at the wall. "Hmmm." She said and then picked up the worm and placed it on the wall in their way, stepping back as the worm began to wraith and wiggle into the wall as if suddenly in pain and then erupt with a shrill cry.

"That works." Orion said as they moved on, shooting down more Fallen and Hive as the two sides continued to battle with each other and against the Guardians as they searched for their friends, Rose stopping Arielle as the floor ahead of them suddenly burnt with Void flames in the same way the Hive's summoning signs did.

"Have you seen this before?" Rose asked as Bing scanned the shape from her armour, carefully detailing the image and trying to reference it with other known Hive marks. "I'm getting nothing."

"Never seen it before." Arielle shook her head. "Orion?"

The Titan knelt and carefully studied the void mark, carefully looking though the Hive data he'd saved from Eris after the fights against Crota and Omnigul and nodded, "It's a trap like the Hive used in the Plague lands to fight the SIVA Fallen." He said, "But this is more powerful and while it can't create a cage it floods the body trapped inside it's outer rings with Void Flames."

"So, we avoid them," Arielle said already making her way over eth trap using a narrow ledge along the wall, Rose right behind her.

"Its all we can do," Orion said following them, "Void traps like that can't be removed until they are triggered or they burn out alone." He explained.

"Eris teach you that?" Rose asked and the Titan nodded. "Has anyone got word of her since the Red War?"

"She was on the Dreadnaught as far as we were aware, but we haven't heard from her since before Ghaul attacked." Orion explained. "We could really do with her help now though."

"We have Arielle." Bing said, "She knows stuff about the Hive."

"But not as much as Eris." Arielle reminded, "She was our expert on them." She added and drew her weapon to scan the room with her scope, "Our way is blocked by one of those walls again, but its over a nest, I count three big Ether infested Knights, one to the left, one to the right and one in the middle, and we have Wizards, Cursed and normal Thrall and Acolytes."

"I'll take the left." Orion offered.

"I'll take the right." Rose assured.

"Wait." Arielle said seeing something in her Scope and offered the weapon to Rose, "By the spike structure near the ground." She specified and Rose looked towards the location she'd been given and felt her breath hitch.

"What is it?" Orion asked, looking to see for himself and felt his stomach turn. Kuji's helmet lay dented and cracked at the foot of the spike, splattered with hive blood.

"New plan." Arielle said, "Rose, you and me go in there and get them in a group, Orion, you turn them into corpses." She instructed turning to Rose, "Ready?"

Rose nodded and after a moment's pause, they two bolted from their cover and fired a few stray shots at the Hive, easily grabbing their attention and being chased around the area until the two ran right at each other and Rose skidded past the spike, snatching up Kuji's helmet. "NOW!"

The heavy beat of a hammer echoed around the area easily as the Hive were burnt away by Orion's Sol hammers, dropping the Ether Worms onto the top of the nest and then with more pained cries, the structure began to shake and tremble, growing weaker and weaker. Then with a murderous scream, a larger Hive Brood Queen erupted from the nest and released Solar blasts at the Guardians from her palms.

"That's the Brood Queen!" Wrex warned.

"Tag her and track her!" Orion told his Ghost already firing at the Brood Queen while Arielle and Rose took shots from their cover, "Ari behind you!"

Arielle went down to one knee and unloaded her rifle's clip into the chest of a Hive Knight that had charged her throwing the Knight aside with a pained snarl as Rose tossed a grenade at the Brood Queen, catching her chest and face with the explosion and with a furious scream, the Brood Queen fled down into the hole she had opened above the nest.

"You two ok?" Orion asked as he came down to join them.

"I think so," Rose said checking herself, "Just scuffs."

"I'm fine." Arielle assured slapping a new clip into her rifle.

"You sure?" Wrex asked, "You don't sound so good."

"I am fine." Arielle repeated looking down into the nest below them.

"Long way down." Bing said. "I can't find any life signs from Kuji, Vlad or Grandpa." He added.

"They have to be somewhere in here." Rose said, "Going down." She added and stepped of the edge of the hole, sliding down the walls until she reached the bottom of the pit.

"Should we be worried Vlad and Kuji are rubbing off on her?" Orion asked trying to break some of the tension between them.

Arielle looked at him, then silently shook her head. "Rose isn't going to do something foolish." She said, "She's not a child anymore."

Orion nodded, silently following Arielle down the whole and covered the rear as they moved deeper into the nest. The three of them slowly cutting through the masses of Hive as they passed huge chambers of chitin and slowly moving barnacle like structures that clung to the walls and floor of the chambers they cleared, slowly making their way deeper into the nest. A loud screech echoed ahead of them suddenly and Rose jumped back to avoid the void snare circling her as a strange shadowy like image of the Brood Queen rose up and cast the same void trap down on the ground all along the bridge and around them as Thrall and Knights charged them.

"Down." Arielle ordered, and Rose ducked low as static stung the back of her neck, watching the Storm strike down the Hive easily, the unexpected currents of air around Arielle blowing the Void flames out along the bridge and forcing the shade form of In Anânh to retreat down into a deeper section of the nest with a pained scream.

"The nest is only so deep." Vakarian said, "She can't run anymore."

"Then we end this and get the others out of here." Rose said already at the edge of the hole ready to jump down when Orion caught her and held her back. "What?"

"Listen." Arielle ordered softly and Rose cocked her head slightly.

There was a dull, almost hidden sound within the Hive now, a language she didn't understand and yet, she knew she'd heard something similar before.

"Where is that coming from?" Rose asked.

"Vakarian and Wrex have been hearing it since we got inside," Orion said, "Its feedback from Iris."

"It's only just started to get louder." Arielle added, "Either we're close to them, or the Hive are planning something. We need to be careful."

Rose nodded, stepping back from the hole a little and quickly reloaded her weapons before the three jumped down the hole together, finding a large chrysalis formation surrounded by Ether infused Knights and Thrall.

"I got this." Orion assured, lifting the rocket launcher from his back and braced it over his shoulder as he aimed at the gathered Knights and Thrall, shattering the thick hide of the Knights while the Thrall fell easily, leaving the weakened and staggering Knights to be picked off by Rose and Arielle until only a single Ether infused Worm remained.

Rose picked it up and placed it down on the chrysalis, ducking back behind cover as the formation cracked and shattered open to show the Brood Queen, who screeched at them and dived at Rose's cover, casting Arc blasts from her palms as Rose moved from cover to cover, returning fire with her hand cannons, giving Arielle time to line up her shots with the Hive Queen's head from a higher ledge, breaking off one of her crown like horns with her shot and then moved to run, keeping the Hive Queen distracted while Rose reloaded and Orion lined up his next shots.

Only to yell in shock as a Void trap ensnared him and brought him to his knees. "Fuck! Watch out for the Shade!"

"There are two of them!?" Rose gasped then yelped and jumped backwards to avoid the Void trap that would have caught her otherwise. "Shit!"

"Orion get out of it!" Arielle yelled firing into the shade to distract her from Orion while Rose kicked the solid Queen, driving a fist into her face as In Anânh tried to grab her. "Orion!"

"I'm out!" The Titan growled though his teeth and managed to at last free himself from the burning void and staged into cover for a second, panting heavily as Wrex focused the light through his armour and then snatched the handle of his hammer. "Move!"

Arielle ducked under the Shade Queen's strike and managed to duck behind cover as the heavy clang of the Sol hammer slammed the Shade's body, ripping her apart easily as the heat washed around her cover and while the Light couldn't hurt her, the Hammer itself would leave a nasty bruise if it caught her.

"Gah!" Rose gasped and Arielle saw In Anânh snatch the Hunter by the throat and heave her up, surrounding her in black smog as she chocked the Hunter in one hand while the other tried to cut into her chest armour to reach her Ghost, however before Arielle could attack or lift her weapon to aim, a grenade blast forced the Queen to toss Rose aside and howl in pain as Thrall swarmed the room, causing Arielle to lose sight of Rose and Orion for a moment.

"Rose!?"

"Come 'ere Bitch!" Rose snarled and charged at In Anânh with both hand cannons drawn and firing into the Brood Queen's face and torso.

"Ari!" Orion yelled in warning and Arielle felt the Titan grab her from behind and carry her with him as the Shade, somehow having survived the Sol Hammers tried to catch the Warlock inside a Void trap. "They're stronger than they look."

"I noticed." She nodded. "Ideas?"

"Just one." Orion nodded, and Arielle saw the Rocket Launcher fizzle away form Orion's back as a new gun appeared in its place. "Get them close together. I'll do the rest." He instructed as he loaded the gun.

Arielle nodded. "Rose bring her this way!" She called out as she fired into the Shade's body, drawing her away from Orion for a short time while Rose drove the other In Anânh towards the Shade.

By the time the two realized they had been forced into a corner, it was too late, Rose and Arielle dived out of the way as Orion squeezed and held down the trigger of the Thunderlord, a weapon he had earnt during a run at the Prison of Elders, keeping the barrel aimed at the two forms of In Anânh as the shots came faster and faster, creating a miniature storm of lightning strikes to fall upon the two until they both gave out a howling, ear splitting screech.

"I'm picking up a lot of strange readings." Vakarian stated before a bellowing roar echoed around them. "What is that!?"

"It's Hiraks!" Bing yelled over the bellowing roar, "He's dragging us into a Throne world!"

"Fuck." Orion managed to growl out before the three of them were caught in an unescapable pull and then dropped into a dark and chaotic plane where storms raged wild and Hive charged at them.

"Shit." Rose panted hiding behind a broken pillar for a brief moment to reload her weapons. "Ok, three doors, storms everywhere and a lot of Hive. Anyone else feeling like we're facing a Crota want to be?" She asked firing on the closest Knight to her.

"Not the time." Arielle yelled as she fired on a Knight to buy some time for Orion to reload as well. "Any signs of the others?"

"Nothing yet!" Orion yelled, "Just lots of Hi-Oh Fuck!" Rose and Arielle saw Orion skid backwards after being struck by Hiraks as the Huge Barron stepped from within one of the doorways in the room, firing on them with a Modified Knight's Boomer, firing Arc blasts instead of the commonly fired Sol blasts as two large Ogres lumbered from the door behind the Mindbender.

"Ether Shield!" Arielle warned as one of her shots bounced of the Baron as they scattered to avoid the Ogres and Hiraks. "Take down the shield generators!"

"On it!" Rose assured, a short burst of fire taking down the void shield generators before ducking down to escape the blasts from the Ogre closest to her.

"Fuck." Orion winced spitting up blood. "Shit, I think he cracked a rib."

"Can you keep going?" Arielle asked.

"I'd ask you the same thing." He said smiling under his helmet. "You got enough to roast this guy?"

"I can't hold it long… I'll have to get close." Arielle nodded. "Might need to syphon some Light from you and Rose."

"We got you covered," Orion nodded, "Duck Rose!" He yelled out and fired into the Ogres with the last few rounds of his Thunderlord as Rose skidded into cover.

"Guys! The center door!" Rose yelled, "There's something hovering above it!"

"Power source?" Orion asked.

"No." Vakarian said managing to get a quick scan. "A key stone."

"Keys go to locks." Wrex stated, "Ten to one says that it opens a door that hides our missing teammates."

"Can you grab it?" Orion asked.

Rose nodded and as Hiraks lumbered towards them, she dashed out keeping the Mindbender's attention on her for a few seconds before Arielle sent the storm into the Baron's chest as Rose ran up his staggering body and jumped to grab the key stone above the door as the whole realm began to shack violently and crumble around them.

"Time to go!" Orion yelled as the winds raged around them, enough to blow him back a few steps before he was forced to grab the ground with his hands and crawl as fast as he could to try and fight the powerful winds, Arielle having to do the same as they reached Rose, who had used one hand to anchor herself against the door to wait for them, her free hand tightly clutching the keystone to her chest as they fought to escape the collapsing realm.

Orion planted his feet firmly in the shaking ground and reached back, grabbing Arielle's arm and pulled her close, "On three!" he yelled over the roaring winds. "One!"

"Two!" Arielle yelled, grabbing Rose's arm to stop her being blown away.

"Three!" Rose nodded.

They fell through the door and landed in a heap on top of one another a second after they pulled themselves through the doorway. "Where are we now?" Bing asked as Rose wiggled free from under Orion's heavier bulk, Arielle having landed on top of them both.

"Looks like the inside of a Hive ship." The Titan said helping Arielle to her feet again. "Everyone ok?"

"I think so." Vakarian said, "No injuries save a few scratches and a bruised left shoulder." He clarified.

"So, where's the door this key goes too?" Rose asked.

"Let's find out." Wrex said as Orion released him from his armour and the large Ghost began to scan the room carefully. "Up here." He called floating to a locked door, that was giving off a slight glow that increased as they brought the Keystone closer.

The runes melted away as Rose placed the stone into the lock, and the door reluctantly groaned open to show three large cocoons, shaking and wiggling as if something inside was trying to get out. Orion grabbed one of the cocoons by the center seam and tore it open to show Kuji, covering in some kind of Hive slime but alive as he let Orion pull him out of the confines of the Cocoon and coughed up more of the slime.

"Uh, that's just nasty…" Orion said as Rose and Arielle tore open the other two cocoons to free Vlad and Grandpa, both of whom looked slightly shaky on their feet but were mostly unharmed. "What happened?"

"The Brood Queen was going to use us as power crystals. Like the ones we saw on Titan." Grandpa said having to lean on Arielle to stay up right as he tried to wipe the slime off his face. "Whatever this ick is, its messing with my systems and stabilizers."

"Then we better get you back to Spider's Safehouse so we can clean you up." Rose said, helping Vlad stand as the Exo groaned.

Slowly the six made their way back towards Thieves Landing and then towards Spider's lair and Spider chose not to speak of it as he watched the Guardians attempt to clean the Hive slime off their armour amour and clothes.

"I smell like something an Ogre spat out." Grandpa groaned as he was washed down by the automated wash system. "Damn stuff better not cause rust in my joint."

"It won't." Rose assured, "scans show you all as clear and unchanged and we even managed to save you from getting eaten." She smiled.

"I don't think they'd have eaten all of us." Vlad chuckled, "We're not all squishy soft."

"Speak for yourself." Kuji said.

She flew the ship towards earth, using the codes Cayde had given her in good faith years ago in hopes that they could give her a few minutes to check her theory and also buy her a few moments peace and the chance to end this before it became too serious.

If Uldren was planning what she thought he was, if there was a true source of his madness beyond the Watchtower, she had to stop him before he unleashed a danger so terrible that even the Queen would struggle to fight it alone.

She had so many unanswered questions, so many what ifs and maybes that made her doubt and question everything and she didn't like it. She had never doubted the Queen before, not even when she had been ordered to remain behind during the attack on Oryx's dreadnaught, not when Arielle returned to help face the Wolves a second time with Rose. But now, now she doubted and it scared her that those doubts were founded in truths that could not be denied. She tried to silence those doubts, tried to remind herself that the Queen always had reasons for her actions, always had a plan in motion that she could follow.

Even if Petra didn't know the plan herself, it did not mean that the Queen had forgotten her. Petra simply needed to trust her Queen and know that whatever the outcome, whatever distance or pains her people felt, Queen Mara Sov always had a plan.

Arielle had left the safe house alone while Vlad and Grandpa were being cleaned out of the Hive mess they'd managed to get in their joints with a message that she would help if she could, but she needed time to heal on her own, Rose had accepted the news better than Vlad had thought she would and despite attempts to learn just what had happened between them while hunting the Rifleman and Hangman, Rose did not speak of the incidents and said only that whatever had been said or done between the two Awoken women was between them.

Orion asked if Arielle was alright and Rose had told him about the injuries Arielle had sustained from the Hangman, but assured Orion that she had tended them and with a few hours of rest and healing form Vakarian with the Light Arielle would have little more than scars to show for the fight, it helped calm Orion, but only so much as he feared that Arielle would put herself in a similar situation again if left alone until Rose reminded him that Arielle had survived alone and without there Guardians before she met Orion and Vlad in the Hellmouth all those years ago.

Orion didn't like it, but he chose not to press for more and instead agreed to continue helping with hunting the Barons.

"Well, look at you," Spider chuckled, "If the prodigal prince is not yet afraid of you, he soon will be." He assured.

"Any news?" Rose asked, ignoring the bait.

"Of the prince and his pet Fanatic." The Spider spat the words like a vile taste in his mouth, "reports are few. However, your bloodbath has forced the Machinist out of hiding, and I have heard that she is amassing vast quantities of corrupted Ether to grow the Fanatic's depraved armies." He added, "When you pay the Machinist a visit. I urge you to destroy any and all caches of their vile ambrosia."

"Less Scorn to worry about is good all around." Orion nodded. "Where do we find the Machinist?"

"She's made herself at home in the Junk Yard beyond what was once the Rider's stomping grounds. In Sorik's Cut." Spider explained. "She has a small army with her and she will be ready for you."

"Lots to kill then." Vlad stated.

"Death seems to suit you." Spider chuckled. "Petra sends word that she will return when she has gathered some intelligence on another matter, but until then, she has asked that you not attempt to contact her." He added, watching Rose, Vlad and Orion leave the Safe House while Kuji and Grandpa remained behind to finish cleaning out the last of the Hive slime and ick from their armour but promised to catch up when they were done.

They reached the Junk Yard and Rose stepped off her Sparrow was she looked around the area, the fires from their time here hunting Yaviks had died out but the damage was still clear and left the floor a charred groaning mess of rust and small puddles of the same corrosive fluids that had been Yavik's making.

Carefully they made their way through the charred mess until they reached the junk yard. "That's Amanda's work." Wrex said as they came upon a slightly dented and charred Drake tank.

"Guess the Machinist is a fan." Sovereign said as he scanned the tank. "We need a Nav mod and the weapon's mod, and we can use it."

"Well, this is a Junk Yard." Rose said, already searching the large piles of broken parts and paneling.

Steady breathes, slow, calm and even, no rush.

She watched her target slowly make his way through the shallow water that surrounded the fragment of the Traveler's Shard on Earth, watched him easily twist the fallen with a power not his own and the Dregs shuffle and move slowly aside to let him past.

She was recording it all, watching the traitor Prince as he seemed to contemplate his actions as he looked upon the Shard before him, his lips moved as if he was speaking with someone and yet she saw only him and the Fallen who stood too far back to hear what he was saying. How far into madness had he truly fallen? Can that in anyway justify what he has done? The lives he's destroyed and ruined all for some unreal affection?

She watched him shoot Cayde's Hand cannon into the Shard until there were no more bullets and then with a heavy hand, drag a broken splinter from the crevasse he had just made, she lined up her shot and fired.

He moved as if warned at the last minute and she cursed racing away as the Fallen charged her location.

She knew what he would do now, where he would go ad why he had come here. She needed only to make her way back to the Watchtower and warn the Guardians, then it would be a case of stopping Uldren before he could complete his mad task.

She would not miss another shot.

"Where is she getting all those Rockets?!" Orion demanded.

"Who cares! Just shoot her!" Vlad yelled back as Rose skidded into the smallest amount of cover she could find, gritting her teeth as the blasts from the rockets caught her side.

"Incoming!" Orion yelled in warning as another line of explosions rocked the area.

"We're not bringing her down like this!" Rose yelled.

"So, what do we do?" Vlad asked.

"We up the game!" Rose yelled back and heaved her sniper rifle from her back, aiming at a large set of canisters. "Fire in the hole!"

Elykris screamed in rage as the barrels of Corrupted Ether behind her suddenly erupted throwing her to the ground as the other canisters began to explode in a surge of fire. "NO! Wretched Guardians!"

"Scorn incoming!" Orion yelled in warning as the Baron charged at the Hunter, only to stagger back as she was hit by the Hunter's Arc Staff. "Vlad help me clear these fuckers out!"

"Working on it!" Vlad assured already taking shots at the Stalkers and Lurkers that were charging them.

"Watch out!" Rose yelled as the floor was suddenly peppered with rockets.

"Shit she's pissed." Orion hissed as he ducked into cover.

"Rose what are you doing?!" Vlad yelled as Rose jumped up onto the back of the Machinist's armaments and dropped something into one of the holes.

"Everyone down!" Rose yelled as she raced away from the Machinist.

The explosion rocked the whole junk yard, throwing Rose into a shallow ditch as Scorn screamed and cursed around her struggling to survive as the explosion's shock wave tore them apart and stray rockets bombarded the whole area. When the smoke finally cleared, Orion and Vlad dug Rose free of the pile of broken piles that had fallen onto her, protecting her from the worst of the blast.

"What did you do?" Orion asked.

"Stuffed a belt of grenades into the rocket platform on her back." Rose said.

"Ummm… she's still alive…" Wrex said noticing the body of the Machinist was twitching.

"I bought them…. Time… The Scorn… the Barons… stand together… Forever…" She hissed in a broken wheezing laugh before finally falling silent.

~ "Guardians!" ~ Petra's voice suddenly broke over the comms. ~ "I know where Uldren is heading. Its time to end this!" ~

"Where are you Petra?"

"On my way to the Watchtower now, meet me there and I'll explain everything."

"You'll explain now!" Rose said, "What is going on?"

~ "There is something beyond the Watchtower, something only the Queen should have the power to open the way to, if we don't stop Uldren now, he will open the way to the home of the Awoken people." ~ Petra said, ~ "Please, we don't have time to chatter about it! We must stop him!" ~

"We're on our way." Orion nodded.

The Watchtower wasn't a tower at all.

It was a Doorway. A doorway between the outside world, and the Dreaming City, home of the Awoken people as a whole and the place where She had lived so long ago with Uldren and Mara. There was something else there, something hidden deep within the core of the city where few souls had ever set foot.

~ "I trust you to know that this is not something I share easily." Mara said to her as she stood before the huge form before them, coiled up and seeming to sleep despite their intrusion of its home.

"How long has she been here… can she be trusted?"

"She is mine, as you are Uldren's and yet, not mine at all. A strange beast but a powerful one." Mara said, "One I do not have need for but one who has chosen to stay at my side and aid me in her own ways."

"That doesn't answer my question." She said. "How can you know she is trustworthy?"

"I have my ways. And now that you know she is here, I must as that you not speak of her to Uldren or any other." Mara said, "The less known she is, the safer she is from those who would hunt her."

"Does she have a name?" She asked.

"Riven." The thing hissed softly as a huge pair of eyes turned to look at them, looking deep into the eyes of both her and the Queen as the massive head came up and slowly blinked its eyes at them. "My name is Riven." ~

That was what had caused all of this. Arielle knew it now and she knew how to stop it.

"Arielle?" Vakarian asked.

"We must stop Uldren opening the way between here and the Dreaming City." Arielle said, "I know what's causing this madness. And I know how to stop it." She said holding a small item in her palm and nodded.

"Then we better hurry." Vakarian said, "Rose commed and said that Vlad and the others are on their way to the Watchtower now on Petra's orders."

"Then get us there." Arielle ordered as the ship around her roared to life.

The fight to get in to the Tower was well underway by the time Kuji and Grandpa caught up with Vlad, Orion and Rose, the trio already deep into a fight with Fikrul at the entrance of the Tower, surrounded by Scorn and struggling to gain any ground as the huge Baron leader used his staff to create Arc traps on the ground and also tether the three from a great range and drop them in the middle of his army's forces.

"Did you enjoy killing them? Putting them in dirt where YOU belong?" Fikrul wheezed as Rose staggered and panted having drained the last of her light to fight off the latest wave of his Army with her Arc Staff. "I would pay ANY price to witness your death."

"Keep dreaming fucker." Rose hissed unloading her hand cannons into the Baron leader as he charged at her. "The one dying to day is you!"

"Everything you kill, EVERYTHING you put down. I WILL resurrect and send at you, again and again!" Fikrul yelled, "The Scorn are FOREVER!"

"MOVE!" Grandpa yelled as he and Orion jumped down at the Baron from above, Orion throwing his Sol Hammers at the Baron's head while Grandpa tossed his shield at the huge form catching it and throwing it again and again until Fikrul's body fall and remained still in a heap outside the Watchtower doors.

"Hurry!" Vlad yelled. "Uldren's already inside!"

~ "I'll make my way to you." ~ Petra said. ~ "You're are the first outsider eyes to see what's inside the Tower since the Queen closed the doors." ~

Wrex made a confused sound as they moved deeper into the tower, passing a large device that was giving off a strange signal. "This is a communication device but the coordinates its broadcasting to… Shouldn't exist…"

"How is that possible?" Rose asked.

"We'll figure it out later." Vlad said and then paused as they came to a door way that was filled with a strange water like cover, though it did not reflect them or anything so much as obscure the room beyond that seemed to hold some kind of tree.

"The line between dimensional planes is unusually thin here." Bing said as Rose stepped through the door way. "It's like the Throne world-Whoa…"

"What is it?" Vlad asked as he and Orion followed her through the door way Grandpa and Kuji close behind.

"Where are we?" Kuji asked, his voice echoing as he looked around the broken room filled with Taken orbs and blights as they walked through it.

"No idea…" Orion said. "Some kind of Taken plane?"

} Open the door Brother. {

Rose froze, looking around slowly. "Did everyone here that?" she asked softly.

} Open. The. Door. {

"Mara's here?" Vlad asked looking around. "What the Fuck?"

} "I can't…" {

"That's Uldren." Orion said.

} "No…" {

"Taken Portal up ahead." Grandpa said.

"We have to hurry." Rose said and jumped through the portal without question.

Arielle ran as fast as her feet would carry her, forcing herself to move as fast as she could through the broken planes of the Tower, trying to find her way to where she could hear the fighting taking place, to reach Uldren as his screams and pained cries echoed from. She knew what was happening now, she knew who was causing this whole mess and she knew how to save Uldren. She knew how to put an end to it all and who had caused the whole damn mess, she prayed Rose could stop the others killing Uldren until she got there, she prayed to all and any power above that would listen that she could get there in time to save Uldren.

It wasn't madness, it was manipulation. It was all part of something bigger, something unseen by everyone, something she could prove to Vlad was behind it all and give him a real target for his anger.

~ "How can you trust that she will not betray you?" Arielle asked the Queen.

"Again with such a question. Are you not convinced she is aiding us of her own will because she has nothing to gain in betraying me?"

"I do not trust something that has such power as she does when they claim that there is nothing for them to gain in betraying you." Arielle hissed, "I would not trust one of their kind so easily. The Guardians have all but wiped them out because of their power and have we not also suffered because of them before? Or have you forgotten Azirim?"

"I have not forgotten Azirim. Nor his deeds." Mara said evenly, "But Riven is not Azirim."

"She is his kind and that is enough." Arielle said, "You cannot trust her Mara."

"Why are you so worried?" Mara asked.

"Because she is not to be underestimated. Young or old, the Ahamkara are not to be trusted with anything. Is it wrong of me to worry that somehow she might control and manipulate a situation to suit herself or her kind rather than you and us?"

"Precautions and steps are in place to stop her should the time ever come that she is so bold as to attack us, but as for now, Riven is not a threat or concern you need be troubled with." Mara assured her. "She is mine to worry over. And I ask only that you keep her life hidden from the outside should you ever be asked of her."

Arielle sighed, but did not press the matter, she couldn't. Once Mara's mind was made, it was done and nothing could change it. But there was one last word to be had on this matter and Arielle was not going to allow it to go unsaid any longer. "I will only keep my silence so long as she keeps from endangering my home and yours. And I don't care what you promise me Mara, the Ahamkara are not to be trusted and if she pushes, I will push back." ~

Those steps had failed, it was clear now and Riven was pushing against the walls that had kept her hidden for years now. And Arielle was going to push back, no matter what Mara thought she knew, what she THOUGHT she could do to keep Riven trapped and hidden away, Arielle was not going to sit back and let this mess get out of hand anymore.

She reached the chamber to find Rose, Orion, Kuji, Grandpa and Vlad blocked by a huge door, trying to shove it open as some kind of force on the other side kept them out. She stepped up side Rose and together the six pushed as one, forcing the doors to move and separate to show the chamber beyond.

Just as Uldren was swallowed by a huge servitor, a voice of Riven Arielle recognized from her past, she growled and opened fire on the huge form. "Aim for the mouth!" she called.

"On that we agree!" Vlad snarled and fired into the mouth of the beast before them, hearing it roar and snarl at them with some unholy rage.

"We're being pulled between realms!" Iris warned seconds before they all tossed into a Taken plane, where Uldren's screams echoed around them.

"RIVEN! Let him go!"

"Riven?" Rose asked.

"The thing we're fighting." Arielle explained briefly while shooting down the Taken forces that were trying to fire on them. "It's a symbiont of sorts, its just a fragment of what's really behind all of this."

"So we kill it and it'll drop Uldren?" Rose asked.

"For Riven's sake, it better." Arielle snarled then ducked as a loud explosion to their right rocked the room.

"Kuji blew up the Taken keeping us here." Vakarian warned as the air crackled with energy, "We're being pulled back into the true realm."

"When you have a shot, take it." Arielle instructed to Rose before the two were dropped back into the main chamber with the Voice of Riven, tough now Rose was beside Orion and Arielle was nowhere to be seen.

"Arielle?" Orion asked.

"Angry but helping." Rose nodded, "She said it's a symbiont of sorts, we kill it, we can get Uldren out of it and get answers."

"Soft spot?" Orion asked.

"Mouth." Rose said and fired a barrage of shots into the gaping tooth surrounded hole, as the Voice of Riven floated into range. "And prey Uldren's not near the surface." She added.

"This way fucker!" Grandpa yelled out from somewhere behind the Voice of Riven making the beast turn only to howl again as the Void shield bounced off its body again and again and Vlad's Golden Gun shots burned the back of its throat.

"It's pulling us in again!" Sovereign yelled in warning and Rose yelled in pain as she landed on Grandpa's back, feeling her leg twist in the wrong way.

"Fuck!"

"You good?"

"Fine, just shoot the Taken and prey we end this fast." She nodded hearing Orion's and Kuji charge the Taken ahead of them. "Where are Arielle and Vlad?"

"To the right of us, up on the ledges." Grandpa told her, firing on the taken thrall charging towards them. "Looks like the big guy's not here yet."

"You jinxed us!" Rose said suddenly and pushed Grandpa out of the way as a huge sword was brought down on them, unloading her hand cannons into the Taken Knight while struggling to get back to her feet, "Shit… Bing."

"I'm trying… its not working." Her Ghost said in a small panic his shall shaking in her armour as the Knight advanced on them. "Rose?"

"Down!" Orion yelled and Rose dropped as a miniature storm suddenly fell on the Knight, the room shaking violently and Uldren screamed somewhere unseen and then like that Rose was dropped into shallow water, her body shaking with pain as was dragged into cover by Vlad.

"Are you-?"

"Focus on that thing." Rose hissed through gritted teeth, Bing at last able to focus the Light into her injured leg.

Hearing Uldren scream suddenly seemed to trigger something in Arielle across the room, drawing on all her Light the Warlock sent a condensed and focused beam of her Arc Storm into the Voice of Riven's mouth, forcing the beast to tremble and shake violently before it threw something from its mouth and then seemed to be swallowed up by the star map that spanned the back of the room.

Rose blinked then sighed and let herself relax for a brief moment, slowly pulling herself up with the help of a broken pillar while Kuji and Orion leant on each other the Hunter's right arm limp at his side while Orion panted, trying to catch his breath. Grandpa looked down at then all from his place on a raised plat form, watching Vlad release Sovereign to help heal the small injuries he'd sustained in the fight while Arielle moved to stand from her place at the front of the room, scanning for any other threats.

Uldren was struggling to pull himself out of the shallow water of the room's floor, weak and dazed though he continued to search the room for someone he couldn't find. "Where is my sister?"

"She isn't here." Arielle told him. "It was never her voice Uldren, never her words," she added. "It was all lies."

"I SAW her." Uldren insisted. "I saw her. I heard her-"

"You saw what Riven knew you wanted to see and hear." Arielle corrected. "It was all that beast's doing, never Mara's, never yours. It was all a lie."

"But I- everything I have done!" Uldren began. "This was all, I did it for her-for Mara! So she could be freed."

"You," Arielle realized suddenly. "You knew what you were doing?"

"I thought it was Mara." Uldren whispered.

"Vlad." Rose's plead caught Arielle's attention and she turned to see Vlad had retrieved the fallen Ace of Spaces from the shallows and now held the gun aimed at Uldren.

"So, this is to be my reckoning." Uldren chuckled weakly.

"Shut up Uldren." Arielle hissed at him. "Vlad listen to me-"

"Get out of my way." Vlad snapped coldly, cutting the warlock off.

"Vlad please, it wasn't his fault." She tried to explain.

"He killed Cayde in cold blood for no reason other than his own damn enjoyment!" Vlad snarled. "Move Arielle, or I will shoot through you."

"Shouldn't we step in?" Kuji asked Orion quietly.

"We can't." Orion told him, "It's not our place."

"Are you sure?" Grandpa asked and Orion nodded.

"Vlad please." Rose said stepping between him and Arielle. "Not like this, he's finished. It's over. Even with all he's done-"

"You have no idea what he's done!" Petra snarled as she arrived, cutting Rose off as she leveled her own weapon at Uldren.

"I know why all this happened." Arielle declared sternly. "Riven caused all of this."

"Riven?" Petra asked only to stop as the hammer of the Ace of Spades was pulled back.

"Vlad don't." Rose said again as Arielle deliberately placed herself between Vlad and Uldren.

"Riven of a Thousand Voices." The Warlock explained, "She's an Ahamkara in the Dreaming City, a place only Awoken Born in the Reef know about. She caused all of this and you know it Petra."

"How could she had done any of this?" Petra demanded sharply. "She's locked in the spire."

"What else would want to leave the City so badly she reached out to the mind of the one who found her?" Arielle asked.

"That thing we fought just now." Orion asked from the side. "Was that Riven?"

"No, that was a fragment of her power. A vessel to insure that once the door was opened from the Dreaming City it stayed open and allowed Riven to come and go as she pleased, I'd bet she'd have done more sooner if she'd had the means." Arielle explained.

"What do you mean?" Kuji asked.

"The Queen is in the Dreaming City trying to cover this mess up in her usual way, she told no one because she thinks she can do this alone." Arielle stated.

"What does that have to do with Uldren killing Cayde and releasing the Barons?" Orion asked, "If Riven wanted out of the City, why kill the Hunter Vanguard who knew nothing about her?"

"Riven tricked Uldren into thinking that she was Mara, whispering to him this whole time and because the real Mara isn't here, the lies were easily believed." Arielle explained, "And how better to make sure no one suspects her of any wrong doing then by using the Prince and his Barons as bait, drawing the attention of others away from the City?" She asked. "She made him do all this to cause trouble and try to draw Mara back out into the open."

"And anyone who got in the way of that plan would have died." Grandpa stated as he looked to Vlad. "It makes sense Vlad."

"I don't care if it makes sense, he should have known it wasn't his sister!" Vlad snarled in angry as he looked at Uldren. "All you ever talked about was how close you were to her and yet you can't find the strength to fight until moments before you get swallowed up by some twisted Servitor?"

"He thought it was Mara." Rose said firmly. "Without the real Mara here to prove otherwise and leaving Petra in charge, it would make sense that Riven chose Uldren, his devotion to Mara is unmatched and unwavering, he'd die for her."

"Don't defend him!" Petra snapped. "He's killed innocent people, ruined the lives of millions more and threatened the very sister he claimed he loves so much. He doesn't deserve your mercy…"

"Everything I did, I did for HER." Uldren declared.

"Vladimir." Vlad tore his gaze from the Prince to Grandpa as the Titan Exo stepped over. "If you do this, you are no better than him. You just continue in a cycle of blame that can be broken right now."

"He killed Cayde."

"Under the command of a beast known to all the universe to be manipulative and powerful." Rose reminded. "Ahamkara are Wish Dragons, they give you what you want and they use you as they please."

"We've no right to judge him without knowing all the facts and if this Riven of a Thousand Voices is in the City Arielle speaks of with the Queen, I say we go there, now and we do this right, we judge Uldren with all the facts." Grandpa stated evenly.

"The facts are he has killed millions without mercy, destroyed the Vestian Outpost, released the Barons upon the Tangled Shore, shattered the very seal that kept the Scorn and other enemies of the Reef out of the City and he murdered Cayde." Petra snarled in fury. "If Cayde-6 was here, I know what he'd do."

"Yes. What would the infamous, Cayde-6 do?" The Prince asked, looking past Arielle to Vlad, "You have his gun, seems you have the last word."

"Cayde was many things," Rose said, looking down at Uldren for the first time since the situation began. "But he was not a murderer."

Uldren gave a dry and broken chuckle, "Funny… The line between Light and Dark can be so very thin, how do you know which side you're on?"

Before anyone could answer, a single shattering shot echoed throughout the tower.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine.

Shattered.

She should have known it would not end well. No, Mara told herself as she sat alone, silently contemplating all that had happened and all that was happening just beyond the gate way to her court. She knew all along it would never end well, Uldren and the Hunter Exo had never gotten along, the hunter had no respect for Uldren, only for her and even that was limited while Uldren respected fewer than any and was devoted her. Arielle's friendship and past with the two was the only reason the two had acted civil towards one another when they were in any kind of contact with one each other, though this was rare. But that friendship had not stopped the Exo firing the shot that ended Uldren's life. And Mara could see the broken bonds now as clearly as one saw the broken junks of the Traveler now circling the giant orb above the city. No, it would never have ended well.

She'd known it from the start and despite the pain of his actions, she forced herself to keep her plans on schedule, watching as the Scorn, the Taken and the Hive flooded the city she had created for her people, threatening them, forcing her limited forces into a dead lock, lives were lost every hour and the numbers continued to fall and still Mara refused to let her city be destroyed, to let her mistake, yes it was hers, hers for believing that she could forever hold Riven to her side, to keep the beast as an ally to aid her people, to keep the Awoken strong… She had made this choice and now she would face its fall out and consequence as a Queen should. She could not allow Riven to flee her prison; she could not permit this mistake of her making to roam freely and create even more trouble. She made this chaos and she would see to it that this chaos was contained.

She had felt Uldren's life slipping, drained by the bond to keep Riven's lies over him real and then, a brief moment of sanity, of clear understanding and horror of what had happened, then the defeated realization he had become a puppet to the will of an enemy. Then it was gone. Uldren was gone and she could not find him again.

She watched from her throne as the gate to the Dreaming City was torn open, almost ripped from its foundations by the storm that could only be her Sword's anger, and oh what a storm it was. The weather less Dreaming City echoed with thunderous bellows that shook the spires and towers like saplings in the wind, the lightning strikes came like whip lashes, over and over again and tore the edges of the plane with savage intent, slaying Taken, Hive and Scorn without hesitation or pause as rain scorched the dry ground under foot, winds bent and broke agent trees, splintered ancient statues and shattered crystal formations as easily as a child destroying a sandcastle on a beach.

Arielle was beyond rage.

And Mara could do nothing to soothe that anger as it was, in part, her own doing.

It happened slowly. She hoped he'd see reason. That he'd listen to her, if not for their years of friendship, then because of Orion, his oldest friend; her husband. But he pulled that trigger. He knew the truth and didn't care. Uldren had been a victim and Vlad had given in to his rage and ignored her logic-her argument. This wasn't justice. It was murder. Uldren hadn't been at fault; it was Riven. She saw Uldren fall back. Saw the blood. Felt her heart stop.

She screamed-rage, sorrow, anguish-as the storm erupted around her, in her, from her. She shoved the electricity into his chest as the dark and cold that now settled in her soul shielded her in Void armor and her rage was a maelstrom of flames as she wielded Dawn Blade in her right hand and wings spread from her back.

Lightning, void, and fire, three impossible elements that never worked in tandem, they were her rage, her sorrow, and her hate. She was the storm, and Vlad could not escape her.

Vlad did not curse or scream as Arielle's attack caught his left arm, cutting through the armour, the wires and the frame beneath as he pulled back and slammed his right fist into her stomach to force her away, ignoring the pain in favor of trying to land another painful strike he spun and tried to knock her out of the air with his knife, only for her to rise above the strike and charge at him again.

So this was how it ended? Years of friendship, years of listening and helping one another though issues, this was what broke them?! Stupid Arielle! She was blinded to the fact that Uldren had been aware of everything he had done, he had stated as much on the floor as he lay there, trying to gain some mercy for his own fucked up games.

There was no way, no justifiable way that the Prince didn't once think that maybe, just maybe the voice in his head wasn't his sister until the very end, when he was being swallowed. But no, Arielle had to insist that it wasn't his fault, that this whole time he hadn't known what he was doing. Her loyalty to the Sovs was blinding her, despite her marriage and love for Orion, she was choosing the Prince over them in some blinded loyalty that was not shared by the Sovs to her, clearly it was nothing to Mara as the Queen had so willingly allowed this to happen.

So be it then, he would finish the job himself. For Cayde.

Rose was horrified, unable to even think of what to say much less form a sentence in her own words as she watched the storm tear apart the ground around her, she let instinct and the need to survive drive her to move, taking shelter in a shallow alcove with Kuji and Grandpa right behind her, both struggling to find words themselves even as Rose reached out grabbed Petra by the scruff of her hood and yanked her into the cove with them as hard as she could, catching the other Awoken and holding her still as a lightning strike cut the ground just outside their cramped hiding place.

Petra gave her a silent look of thanks but Rose wasn't looking at the Huntress, she was instead looking outside watching as Arielle and Vlad fought like wild animals while Orion, having been tossed aside with the force of their fighting now lay limb in a heap not far from them.

"Rose no!" Grandpa yelled only to be ignored as Rose darted out, narrowly missed by a strike of lighting as she moved, falling back on the years of running away and hiding she'd done before to guide her as she moved, letting her body bend and twist in ways that shouldn't have been possible until she reached Orion's limp form and dragged him into the limited cover offered by a bolder, she took a moment to take a breath and then she moved again carrying Orion's body over her back as she let his dead weight shift her body forwards, forcing her legs to keep moving forwards until she reached the alcove again, stumbling under his weight at the last second before someone grabbed Orion from her.

"MOVE!" She heard Kuji yell as they scrambled for the brief safety of another large out crop. "We gotta stop them!" the human hunter yelled to be heard over the storm of Light outside, "They're gonna tear this place apart if they keep at this!"

"I'll do it." Petra said and made to charge out again only to stop as Grandpa grabbed her arm and forced her to stay, "Let go-"

"Stay. Here."

The tone was icy, enough to cut the haze of needing to survive and needing to get away from danger in half and left Rose feeling afraid of the Titan Exo more than she was of what was happening outside. Kuji gently pulled Petra back by the shoulders as the Exo Titan turned to leave them and try to stop the fighting, all the while Rose, Bing and Wrex were trying to wake up Orion, who had a very nasty forming bump on his head.

"Oh, that hurt…" The Awoken Titan groaned.

Whatever the Titan Exo did to stop the fight it was instantly effective as the storm rapidly faded to a grey sky over head and the rain, thunder and lightning at last stopped, leaving only a unnaturally strong wind howling around the City, when Rose dared to look out she saw Arielle was out cold in Grandpa's arms, blood dripping down her nose and both her arms bare of cloth as the sleeves of her coat and undershirt were gone, burned away by the sheer force of the light, her left leg bent at the wrong angle. Vlad was being carried over the shoulder of another Hunter, another Exo with the burning armour of the Iron Lords, Vlad was missing the lower part of his right arm and the left side of his face was concaved, the left optic completely shattered and ruined from the impact.

Clearly, the two had not been ready to stop their fight, but there was no time for a blood bath, there were other things that needed to be done.

"Saix?" Kuji asked in shock as he realized that the Iron Lord had not only seemingly appeared, but he was spattered with Scorn blood and grime from fights on the Tangled Shore. "How did you-?"

"I saw the sky light up like a firework show and came to see what the fuck was happening, looks like I missed the main event, but it wasn't hard to guess where you were." Saix said and gave them a small nod.

"Talk now Petra." Grandpa ordered firmly take a moment to gently set Arielle down while Vakarian dutifully healed her injuries. "Where the fuck are we? How did we get here? And what the fuck is Riven?"

"Riven is… was an ally to the Queen, she was brought to the Queen by Uldren before this City was even built, a power to rival and out do all others. We gave Riven a home here, built our City around her, created a life alongside her. Now she is against us, a traitor to our Queen and mastermind behind everything you have witnessed."

"It was my understanding that Uldren fired the shot that killed Cayde." Saix stated with a calm tone as he set Vlad down.

"Riven set it up." Rose said sharply and there was a cutting edge of her words. "All this, the madness, the prison break, the Scorn Barons rising… All of this is Riven's work."

"And now she's somewhere in the City roaming free?" Kuji asked looking around.

"No." Petra said, "Riven is trapped in that spire." She explained pointing to the grand and tallest spire in the City. "That is her home and now, her prison."

"Then we go-."

"We aren't finished." Vlad growled as he came out of his forced slumber, focus on Arielle's still limb body.

"You are now." Saix stated firmly and stepped between the two. "You and Arielle can finish your bickering later."

"And what gives you the right to order me around Saix?" Vlad demanded.

The Iron Lord took a step forward, "You never finished your training to become an Iron Lord Vladimir-66. I did. That alone gives me the right to order you to stand down from your fight with Arielle. If you want to fight me on that, I will put you down again and again until you obey, or I will transmat you back to the tower with orders to have you put in lock down." Lord Saix calmly stated as Bahamut locked Vlad's transmat systems in clear preparation to follow through with what his Guardian had stated. "Do you really want to test me, Young Wolf?" he asked.

Vlad shook with barely concealed rage at the ultimatum, but Saix would not back down from his word and Vlad knew if he dared to challenge Saix, he would lose.

"We are going after Riven." Grandpa said, leaving no room for arguments as he smacked a fresh clip into his weapon. "We end this now."

"I'll have the Corsairs take Arielle to a safe place to recover while I locate a means to speak with the Queen." Petra assured as they left, noticing that Saix walked behind Vlad to make sure he didn't try and fall behind while she made the necessary call to have Arielle picked up along with herself.

She had to speak to her Queen.

Riven knew that they were there. She'd felt their light enter the City and witnessed the power of one of them, a familiar yet forging light that was once so very close to Mara.

The wife who left and yet, never strayed from the Prince's mind, the wife who betrayed him without even realizing her error.

She would be fun to toy with indeed.

She reached out, slowly trying to sink into the subconscious of the guardian, only to find her mind was well protected, too strong to be broken even in her forced sleep, much like the Queen of the Reef, this one was well versed in mental protection and preservation of one's own mind and will, even in this state.

How irritating.

She drew back and instead focused upon the six that were coming to her now, slowly sinking int their minds and spoke to them as they reached the first gate way to her prison. One was overflowing with anger, a metal one with burning hot light that almost stung to look at, the desire to kill was still raw in that one and it was irresistibly good as she drank deep of it.

There were others, but their desires were far better hidden that the first two.

"You are finally here." A voice purred. "Brother slayer. Spawn killer." She greeted in the Queen's voice. "All that strength and you're still nothing but a retainer for the Awoken Queen. You could be so much more all you need do is wish it." She baited. "Come. I would quite like to meet you."

The Awoken Hunter found the hidden door, forcing it open and leading the way inside. She watched them move, traversing the many jumps and deep crevasse with ease before reaching the chamber she knew would hold a challenge for them and spoke again taking the voice of the Prince this time. "Have you come to free the Witches? They will resist. Darkness is their shape now."

"That's Kalli." Rose said as she looked through her scope. "One of the Tech Witches who fell during Oryx's attack on the Reef."

"Clearly she didn't die." Vlad said, "Oryx Took her."

"But Oryx is gone." Kuji said, "This can't be his work, can it?"

"We don't know what Oryx was doing during the time he took the Queen hostage." Lord Saix said. "He might have come here and taken Riven, but from what I know of Ahamkara-"

"Talk later, kill now." Vlad said and jumped down into the chamber below them, firing on Kalli as he fell.

"What's gotten into him?" Bing asked as Rose watched from her place beside Saix while Orion, Kuji and Grandpa jumped down after Vlad.

"Anger and grief can often blind us to the bigger picture. Something Vlad has often struggled with when dealing with any kind of loss." Saix explained. "Come. We cannot leave them to fight alone."

Rose was still, unmoving as if frozen in place before she jumped down silently.

Kalli cackled sickly at the Guardians who charged her, summoning swarms of Taken Hive as she floated above them and brokenly chanting as she brought her hands up ready to summon something.

"What is she doing?" Kuji asked.

"Who cares just shoot her!" Vlad yelled, cursing as Rose suddenly grabbed his hood, screaming at the others to 'hide in the doors' and threw him into a small room behind a glass door while the others ducked into their own hiding spaces seconds before a wave, powerful enough to rip the Taken apart as it surged through the room with enough of an aftershock to make Vlad pause as he realized just what would have happened if he had been outside. "What the fuck was that!?"

"Ontological strike." Rose told him as the doors came down to release them. "Tech Witches train for years to befriend Harbingers and use their powers as their own in times of need." She added and she unloaded her weapon clip into Kalli's back as the Taken Witch hovered after Kuji and Grandpa. "Don't get caught outside when she does that again. You will die."

"What are yo-ROSE?!" Vlad yelled in shock as Rose charged right at Kalli.

"What is she doing?!" Grandpa demanded, then gasped as Rose jumped up and snatched her Arc Staff from the air with a swift grab and brought the staff down hard on to Kalli's head before twisting and slamming the staff into her over and over again. "Rose what are you doing!?"

"Focusing Light!" Rose snarled. "We can force the Blight out of them!"

"You heard her!" Saix yelled over the gun shots as he focused his fire on the swarming Taken that Kalli had managed to summon with his Hawkmoon. "Kuji, help me clear the Taken out! Orion, Vlad, Grandpa focus the Witch with Rose!"

"You can see it Rose?" Bing asked, knowing without being told that something else was guiding his Guardians actions, allowing her to see the Taken Blight that pulsed within Kalli.

"I see it." Rose assured her ghost. "I don't know how, but I see it."

"Can we save her?" Bing asked, though his question was not directed at his guardian, but whom ever was aiding her.

"We're going to try." Rose assured after a moment, "Give me all the Light you can give me."

Bing did just that. Focusing Light and energy into Rose's arms as the Arc staff began to tremble in her hands, feeding off the energy it was given as she continued to strike Kalli, yet the Witch made few attempts to strike back or force her back, only brokenly chanting again.

"She's doing that thing again!" Kuji yelled and Rose forced herself to move back and barely made it into the small room behind the glass door as Kalli unleashed her strike over them, removing the Taken from the room as they had no shelter to escape her strike.

The door opened and Rose charged, tossing down the Arc grenade at Kalli's feet as she went at the Witch again, feeling the air suddenly drop cold around her as a Void shield flew past her and bounced off Kalli's head knocking her back as Bing forced Light into Rose's hands.

"Sorry in advance Kalli." She said before driving her fists into Kalli's face and torso, using her Light to force the Taken Blight within Kalli to burn up with each strike, slowly shattering the hold that had been kept over the old Witch for so long until at last the Witch screamed in agony as she was forcefully pulled from the room into a miniature black hole and then without warning Kalli, still taken dived at Rose with a blood curling scream only to stop as a sharp blade cut into her from behind, the weight of another being forcing her to the ground as she continued to wildly thrash and scream, trying to grab Rose even as another miniature black hole opened up and swallowed her.

"What just-"

"Wait for it." Rose said, cutting Orion's question off as Saix stood and placed Bolt Caster back into its hold on his back.

"What do you mean?" Kuji asked then yelled in shock as a strange light suddenly appeared in the room and from the center Kalli fell, freed of her Taken form and clearly weakened and tired from her imprisonment by Oryx.

"You have freed me…?" Kalli asked.

"Tell us how to get to Riven." Vlad snapped angrily, "We do not have time for your bullshit riddles."

The Witch looked around and seemed to realize what had happened and that Shuro Chi was not yet free of the Taken hold as she was. "I can show you the way to the Gateway to Riven. But without Shuro Chi we cannot defeat her."

"And where is Shuro Chi?" Saix asked.

"She guards Riven's gate." Kalli said, "If you can free her as you have me, we have a chance to defeat Riven."

"I don't ca-."

"Vladimir-66." Hearing his full name from Rose made him stop and look at her in shock as she stepped forwards and spoke to the Witch. "Riven's actions have cost us our Vanguard and for that she will not be given mercy. One way or another she will die."

Kalli looked at Rose despite the cloth that covered her eyes and the helmet that covered Rose's face, watching the Hunter for a moment with some kind of confusion before she noticed slight flicker of Rose's aura and Light, and gave a defeated sigh, offering her hand to Rose. "When you fight Riven, you must also take out her heart." She explained as Rose took her offered hand and the knowledge transfer between them, a pathway to follow and a destination. "Shuro Chi has the rest of the map, you will need to free her to claim it. Come, I shall show you the path to Riven and give you the item you will need to truly fight her."

"Thank you." Rose nodded.

Arielle woke in a vaguely familiar room. Her head pounded as she saw a room like it, but all her own. A lifetime ago. The chamber, she remembered was used by Corsairs during training as a place to rest and recover from training sessions.

"Hey." Vakarian greeted quietly.

"Report." Arielle stated looking up to meet her Ghost.

"Saix arrived and he knocked Vlad out while Grandpa hit you over the head. Sorry Ari." The Ghost answered.

"Orion?" She asked, her voice shaking. Her husband's face appeared in her mind's eye, but then it was replaced with Uldren. His laughter. His smile.

Moonlight.

His corpse.

"He was unconscious. The others went to deal with Riven…Vlad included." Vakarian replied.

The rage and sorrow still swirled in her belly. Vlad... he'd thrown their friendship away for vengeance. Orion… he'd tried to remain neutral and it had broken her heart. No one else had seen the logic, had seen the problem that she had. Had been willing to show mercy to a victim.

"What are you going to do?" Vakarian asked.

Arielle stood, her body aching but she ignored it. She walked through the halls, her vision swimming with the images from a life she didn't remember mixing in. Had she always been this mission orientated? Was this something that ran through to her soul? Perhaps.

Vakarian followed along silently, a constant never fading presence that wouldn't abandon her. He was the one of the few reasons she could still do anything. She paused at the familiar hill and the tree. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. The tree presently, was dead, but her vision…In the past it was blooming and beautiful. She took a deep breath to center herself.

"Ari?"

"I'm here." She replied before she fell to her knees and began to dig. She wasn't working for long when she hit the metal box. She pulled the worn box out of the ground and paused. Carved into the box was a set of initials.

A.S

Her breathing staggered as she tried to force her mind to recall her name. Her original name. Or was this after she'd married Uldren?

Arielle Sov.

No. She released a breath.

"Stigande." She whispered, tracing the 'S.'

"Stigande? What's that?" Vakarian whispered.

"It was my last name… my real last name." Arielle answered as she opened the box. It was as she'd left it. The small box of jewels she'd selected and the cloth she'd crafted for her training as a Tech Witch. She reached into the small velvet pocket of the box and pulled a single Tincture of Queensfoil, the viscous liquid swirled within the vial.

"Vakarian?"

The Ghost floated around to face her, "Yes?"

Arielle took a deep breath, "I haven't been myself lately and I'm struggling… between the Arielle you know and Arielle Stigande- the woman that married Uldren Sov-and died in the darkness of the Hive." Her eyes burned, "I don't know which of them is really me right now… or if I'm both, but my friends, Uldren and Cayde, are dead and I was betrayed by someone else I considered friend. You heard the Corsairs as we walked. Riven has been Taken by Oryx's bitch sister. Riven is the last of the Ahamkara and she is the reason Cayde and Uldren are dead. Will you come with me?"

Vakarian's shell shifted, "I'd follow you to Hell, Arielle."

Relief flooded her and she offered the Ghost a friendly smile, "Thank you."

She pulled the jewels and the cloth from the box and wrapped the cloth around her left arm and then palmed the jewels. Now she needed to rely on Arielle Stigande's memories and lessons; if she could remember. She stood and the jewels pulsed in her hands, familiar and welcoming, against the calluses of her new life-guns and scars and burns. Muscle memory buried deep moved her hands in a weaving motion as she walked a path she couldn't see but knew was present; the pathway to the Spire. Riven's prison.

Riven would die for manipulating Uldren and killing Cayde. Petra, foolish Wrath of the Queen who hadn't asked for help, would answer to Arielle. Her anger spiked the flames of her Sol and lured the icy darkness of the Void as the storm that gathered within her was mirrored by the clouds rolling across the Dreaming City.

And finally, Mara who had been Queen, friend and sister. Mara who had been too arrogant in her power and position to reach out and ask for help, who had to have known that Uldren would be lost without her, and a prime victim for the Ahamkara. Mara who hadn't tried to save anyone. Icy rain fell, cooling Arielle's warm skin. Vakarian disappeared into her armor as lightning flashed, and through the storm, her orange eyes were glowing.

The Storm would judge Mara Sov.

Kalli had given each of them a single Tincture of Queensfoil, explaining what the liquid could do and how it would help them face Riven though it would be better to drink the liquid before engaging the Ahamkara to insure that the effects were strong enough and didn't wear off.

They followed Rose into the path that Kalli had opened and after a moment or two they arrived inside a huge hallway filled with small side chambers of plants and samples from different words of the Solar System.

"Queen's Walk." Rose stated.

"How do you know where we are and where we are going?" Saix asked calmly. "From what I recall of your past you have never been here…"

"I haven't." Rose agreed, "And I don't know how I know where we are or where we are going, I've been getting nudges from someone to go one way or another since we got here, someone just putting the words and names in my heard. I don't know who it is, but I do know it's not a trick from Riven."

"How?" Grandpa asked.

If an answer was given no one heard it over the sudden screech of Shuro Chi as the Taken Witch unleashed a massive swarm of Taken against them, though it seemed Rose no longer feared the same Ontological weapon from the older Witch as Kalli had used.

"Focus Light into her when you hit her!" Rose yelled over the screams and gun shots, tossing a grenade down as the Taken swarmed towards them. "Burn the Taken Blight out!"

"You heard her boys!" Orion yelled and snatched his Sol Hammers from his side. "Come on!"

Saix unholstered a heavy fusion rifle from his back and fired at the Taken, smiling as a signal shot bounced off the ground and ricocheted up, taking out one then another Taken Knight as he moved on, aiming and firing as more Taken rushed them, only for the grenade Rose threw down to go off and take down several of them while Grandpa and Kuji met the Taken at close range with their fists and Supers.

Vlad went for Shuro Chi alongside Rose, taking up the Golden Gun with ease as Rose once again snatched the Arc Staff from the air, bringing the staff down hard into Shuro Chi's shoulder forcing the witch down as the hot bullets cut through the air beside her face, slamming Shuro with their full force as the Witch screamed, Taken claws lashing out and trying to strike Rose back as the Hunter side stepped and sweep the staff across the Witch's chest and then spun and slammed the end of her staff into Shuro Chi's face.

There was a sudden shift and Rose felt the claws cut though her armour, shattering the metal as she was thrown back, seeming to lose her Arc Staff only for Shuro Chi to scream out as a knife covered with Arc light was suddenly lodged in her chest, Rose landing hard on her side as she rolled violently into a wall as Taken charged towards her.

A second Golden Gun echoed over Rose as she struggled to get back up, dazed from the strike as she shook her head and watched the Void Shield and Hammer from Grandpa and Orion slam into Shuro Chi's Taken hoard, burning them up as Kuji released Void arrows to tether the Witch and the Taken closest to her down as Vlad and Saix fired on her.

"Rose?" Bing asked as he fed light into her to try and heal the injuries she'd sustained. "Guardian?"

"I'm here." She assured and forced herself back up. "We need more Light if we are going to finish this and get to Riven."

"But from where?" Bing asked.

"Move."

That single word was spoken so coldly and calmly it made Rose shudder as she stepped back, watching the air shimmer and then as if from nowhere, a familiar, angry Warlock stepped into view, her once welcome aura now heavy with rage and raw power that Rose felt smaller than she'd ever felt as the Warlock lifted her hand towards Shuro Chi.

Orion, Saix, Vlad, Kuji and Grandpa stopped as the condensed beam of Arielle's palm slammed into the knife Rose had managed to lodge into the Witch's Chest and though that the Taken Blight and most of Shuro Chi's body was engulfed in a crackling storm even as the air behind Shuro Chi opened and sucked her into the seemingly same black hole that had taken Kalli away, Rose's knife lay a charred and brittle mess on the ground.

Arielle swept her hand to the side, as if dismissing the storm with ease and then her gaze fell on Vlad only for Lord Saix to move between them, his Hawkmoon levelled at Arielle's head.

"I've told Vlad once that if he goes for you now, I will put him down. Same applies to you." Saix stated firmly and calmly.

Glowing orange eyes roved over the group, taking in their uncertainty before falling back on Saix. "He's at the bottom of my list." Arielle stated coldly as the air smouldered around her.

Seconds later Shuro Chi, freed of the Taken Blight and her robes smoking form the storm she had endured, was released from the same strange hole in the air and left staggering and weak as she trembled from the aftershocks of the storm, Rose moved to help the Witch stand as she clearly would not be able to get up on her own.

"Ari?" Orion dared to ask only to be ignored as Arielle walked forwards and grabbed Shuro by the collar of her robes and lifted her up, the heat of her body so strong it burnt Rose just being near the Warlock.

"Arielle don't!" Rose pleaded. "It wasn't her fault!"

Arielle turned her glowing eyes, and rage, on Rose, "The irony of that statement isn't lost on me Rose. Where was that spine when I needed you to help with Uldren?" Rose flinched as if she'd been hit. The Warlock turned back to the witch, "The door Shuro. Now."

Shuro Chi was quiet, still not completely recovered from the release of her Taken imprisonment looked around, seeming to take in the situation before her veiled eyes fell on Rose, seeing the shifting aura slowly fade away as she finally seemed to realize what was happening.

"You are being guided." She said and Rose nodded.

"What is she on about?" Kuji asked.

"She was Taken, Kuji, she couldn't have known what happened to Mara Sov after the attack." Saix explained. He turned back to the Techeun, "But what do you mean by Rose being guided?"

"She is being shown the paths and secrets of our City by the Queen; I could see it in her aura." Shuro explained. She whispered with wonder, "Mara Sov is alive."

"For now," Arielle remarked, looking down her nose at her former mentor. "Open the door." She added as lighting danced up her arms.

"You would…" Shuro Chi began only to stop as Arielle's body was engulfed by icy Void Light, fed by her sorrow but the heat from the Sol, it was rage that warmed the air around her, emotions that Shuro Chi did not understand. "What has become of you, my apprentice? You once loved Mara like family, yet you so callously speak of her death..."

She held her former student's gaze, and Arielle took a moment, a single breath, and the world seemed to shudder as a wave, a mixture of power and emotion, tore through the space between them. Shuro took a step back, "You walk a dangerous path, Apprentice Stigande."

"I'm not your apprentice anymore and Arielle Stigande died on the moon." The former student spat.

Rose stepped between them and Arielle stepped back. "We are here to defeat Riven." Rose said. "Kalli has already given us the Tinctures of Queensfoil and we know we need to take out her heart. But we can't unlock the door to get inside."

Shuro Chi nodded, realizing that she would likely not have answers from Arielle at time soon, took a few deep breaths to try and steady her hands as they came to a large gated doorway and gently placed her hands, palms flat against the smooth white metal of the gate, speaking in a language that didn't translate but had an effect on the gate as it silently split up the middle and parted as the doors slowly swung inwards to allow them entrance.

Arielle moved ahead of everyone else, the storm crackling along her arms and torso with such force that it shook the walls as she walked, Orion and Kuji went after her first while Grandpa made sure to keep himself between Vlad and Arielle as they followed leaving Saix and Rose alone with Shuro Chi, Rose helping Shuro Chi to a small bench to rest.

"How long has it been?" she asked quietly, "My former apprentice never looked at me that way…I feel so lost. What has time done to her? To us?"

"Oryx's defeat was two years ago." Saix said, offering the Witch a small canister. "Water."

"Two years…? What of my sisters and fellow Witches?" She inquired.

"It's a lot to explain and we don't have time right now," Rose said, "I will tell you everything I can when we have defeated Riven, I give you my word, but for now, know that Riven drove Uldren mad and Cayde-6 is dead because of it. Now we're dealing with the fall out." The Hunter explained and held out her hand, "Kalli said you had the rest of the map we'd need?" She added.

Shuro Chi nodded and took her hand, "I wish you luck." She said as the knowledge once again passed between them before Rose and Saix went through the doorway, after a few minutes she gave a deep sigh and let herself fade into a pathway that should not have been there.

The room was a mess, broken slabs of amethyst walls and marble stairs littered the floor or had been somehow lodged into the ruins of the walls that had remained standing though they were no longer pristine as they had been so many years ago, now they were scared and broken with jagged claw marks of all sizes. Arielle tore the stopper from her Tincture and drank the contents deeply, feeling the liquid burn the back of her neck as its effects enclosed her body, allowing her eyes to see what was hidden by the veil of the Dreaming City's magic.

She heard Kuji gag on the taste of the Queensfoil, and even Orion gave a disgusted grunt, though Rose was silent as she drank her Tincture.

"Ok… this is freaky." Kuji said, "Holy shit! Are we Taken?" he asked looking at himself and the others.

"No, we are Ascendant." Saix said, "This is how we looked to the Hive and Taken when we faced Oryx."

"How do you know?" Orion asked, though his eyes were on his stoic wife. No there was nothing of the spitfire he loved in the statue standing before him now.

"Because Anna Lee did extensive research into Oryx alongside many other Warlocks and is one of the most educated of her class, while she may not be in good standing with the others of Felwinter, she is still my friend." The Iron Lord explained, looking around carefully. "Do you have a plan Arielle?"

The Warlock was silent for a moment and then shrugged, "Kill her."

"LOOK OUT!" A chorus of Ghost voices warned, triggering everyone's sudden instinct to roll and scatter from their position as a huge form suddenly pounced from the darkness as blue tainted flames flooded the room forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

Arielle opened her eyes and found the world around her was black, the air was cold and filled with harsh whispers in voices she knew, chanting her name in a broken, sickening attempt to try and disorientate her. She ignored the whispers and looked around trying to find Rose, Orion, Saix or any of the others only to find no sign of them or any sign of the room she had been in.

"Vakarian?" The Ghost didn't answer. She was alone. Her instincts told her that she wasn't alone.

"You left me." Uldren's voice accused, but instead of responding with confusion, a strike of lightning slammed into the ground inches from the voice's location.

"You'll have to try harder than that, Riven," Arielle snarled and swept her hands around the room, stopping when she heard nothing but the echo of her own storm. "I'll still kill you."

"Maybe, O' Slayer Mine," Mara's voice now, a sickly calm that mocked the true Mara, "But I have many powers, many eyes and ears. I hear them, their little whispers, the prayers and cries. So many delicious wishes; and I can grant them all."

"You could never give me what I want." Arielle snapped in a deathly quiet voice.

Laughter echoed around her. "O' Slayer Mine, did I say that I would grant you a wish?" Ikora's voice, somewhere to her left and moving upwards.

Then Arielle realized she still hadn't seen or heard the others who had been with her, she searched around, finding nothing to give away the locations of the Guardians she knew were only a few feet from her moments ago.

Illyn's voice came to her as the darkness opened up to show shimmering images of her friends, each one laid on the ground or against a wall, heads low as their Ghosts tried desperately to wake them to no avail. "They all have something they want, O' Slayer Mine, they all have desires enough to feed armies of my kin. I needed only show them what they wanted, and they all fell so easily… Just like Uldren."

Arielle said nothing as she threw her hand out into the darkness shattering the images with her storm, finally catching Riven with one of her attacks and focusing on her completely, forcing the storm into the beast as she backed up, her huge form making the ground shake as the darkness faded away, leaving Arielle back in the room she had been in before for a brief moment, allowing her to see her team mates, alive but unresponsive.

The darkness returned and Arielle heard her own voice mocking her, reciting old lessons from her days as a Techeun apprentice.

"Show yourself!" Arielle snarled then cursed as a sharp pain cut into the back of her shoulder, she reached back, pulling the cause of the pain out of her shoulder and felt everything freeze.

She knew this knife. It was currently hidden inside her boot.

The darkness gave way to a beautiful garden and Arielle paused. It was familiar to her, but she had never seen it before. But maybe Arielle Stigande had. The Warlock took a breath, very aware of the cloth wrapped around her left arm. She was in the Garden of Esila, the old tree was in bloom and the grass was soft and swayed lazily in the breeze, the sun was warm on her skin and the subtle scent of mint filled her nose as she turned around and found herself standing face to face with her mirror image.

Rose woke with a pain in her head, a feeling of wrongness turning in her gut and intense confusion.

"Ari?" She called out. "Vlad?"

"You ok Rose?" Vlad asked.

"What happened? Where are we?" she asked looking around as she tried to find the threat that should have been there. "Where is Arielle and… How did we get back to the Tower?" She asked realizing they were in her room back on the Tower. "We were fighting Riven."

"We beat Riven, Rose." Vlad said.

"We did?" Rose asked in clear confusion. "No, we were just there… I saw her…"

"You were dreaming Rose." Vlad smiled. "We fought Riven and we won, it's been ten years."

"Ten years?" Rose asked, "But… I was just… we were just… What?" she asked sinking down to the ground as her knees stopped holding her up, Vlad moving to catch her before she could actually hit the ground and slowly moved her to lean back against the bed.

"Rose?" Bing asked as he hovered down from where he had been sleeping on the pillow, Sovereign floating down from the top of a shelf where the weapons were stashed. "What's wrong Rose?"

"We were just fighting Riven. You yelled at us to warn us and then…" She trailed off, her brow furrowed in confusion and frustration.

What had happened after that?

"You took a nasty blow to the head from Riven's tail, she knocked you clean across the room alongside Kuji. We struggled for a while, since she kept changing size and managed to rip Grandpa's throwing arm off and snap Saix in half, Arielle and Orion managed to corner her and then this idiot," Sovereign explained bumping his shell against Vlad's head, "Unloaded his Light into Riven."

"Kuji and I were out that whole time?" Rose asked.

"You were comatose for three days." Bing said nuzzling into her cheek. "Kuji didn't take the full force of the tail smack, but he was still out of it for a day. When you didn't wake up with him I thought you'd never wake up."

The worry, the relief and the calmness was genuine and as she looked around there were items she recognized and items she couldn't place and yet… She knew them… She'd been gifted the cloak that hung on the wall from Shaxx after beating one of the harder challenges he had set them two years ago, Cayde's cloak hung over a small shrine that held Ace of Spades and a picture of the Vanguard caught at an odd angle as he slurped up some Raman noodles. The amethysts on the shelves were from the Reef, but they were not given from the Queen or from Petra, Spider had given her those after she'd help him clean out a small cluster of leftover Scorn with Anna Lee six years ago. The Sword against the wall was from the Dreaming City, a gift from the Queen after defeating a Hive threat four years ago.

"We beat Riven." It was a question. Vlad would know.

"Yes we did." Vlad nodded smiling, cupping her cheek, "back with me now?"

"I think so." Rose said the confusion slowly fading into realization as memories came back to the fore of her mind. "I woke up in the City… Petra and Ari we with me, Shuro Chi and Kalli they helped me."

Vlad nodded but the affirmation didn't ease his frown, "You've been having dreams about that fight for a few days now, but it is close to the Anniversary." He admitted, "Feel like going for a walk? Some air usually helps you get back to yourself." He added with a smile and offered her his hand.

The Tower was almost repaired overhead, the wall seemingly more crowded with Guardians of all kinds. Zavala wasn't in his usual spot by the edge of the wall, instead, he and Ikora seemed to be talking with Master Rahool. Orion and Grandpa were with Shaxx trading in challenges and checking the weight of some new weapons, Kuji hurried past them with Valmont right behind him as a very unhappy looking Hawthorn chased after them with a look of someone about to deliver a painful punch.

Ace and J-Cey waved at her and she remember that yes three years ago, the worlds had fully over laid and remained stable despite Osiris's worries thanks to a well preformed strike against three old Vex Minds in the Infinite Forest. It had been strange at first, but eventually everyone had calmed down and grown use to the changes.

It was almost refreshingly normal to see, everyone was happy, smiling, no one was arguing or tense.

"Where's Ari?" Rose asked as her friend's angry, glowing gaze entered her mind's eye.

Where was that spine when I needed you to help with Uldren?

She blinked away the memory, but Arielle's rage and the betrayal in her eyes was a twisting knife. She would've had to work hard to gain the Warlock's trust again. It would've taken years.

"Ari's likely tearing the incoming Warlocks a new one." Sovereign said. "She and Anna Lee are teaching the newest Guardians the basics in the Hanger, since it's the safest place to practice."

"Practice near Holiday's station?" Rose asked then paused as she watched Anna Lee and Arielle sparring out under the docking area of the ship, Void against Arc as Anna Lee smacked Arielle's hands away from her body demonstrating hand to hand combat to two dozen young Warlocks.

"Holiday only gets mad if they do damage to the ships." Bing giggled.

That's right, Arielle had stayed with them slowly working through the anger with Vlad and Orion but not the Queen, that friendship was gone save the few small times they had gone back to the City to fight Hive or Taken incursions. They had been…

Wait no… no that wasn't right… it couldn't be right…

Arielle had said…

Where was that spine when I needed you to help with Uldren?

Rose felt a sharp pain spike in her head and she stumbled against the wall, sure that she could hear Bing calling out to her from somewhere as she tried to focus on what was going on despite the headache it was causing.

It wasn't right.

"Rose?" she heard Vlad ask but then a new voice, one that shouldn't have been there spoke up and a warm hand touched her shoulder.

"Deep breath Kid." Rose's eyes widened as she found herself looking into the same shining blue optics that she'd seen fade away. "You're over thinking it again."

"Cayde?"

The Hunter vanguard grinned, "I'm still waiting on my gloves back, you know."

Arielle grunted in pain as she was thrown into a wall with the force of a Harbinger. If it hadn't been for her Void light, she'd have a concussion; or worse. She watched NotArielle summon another wave of energy and swore; she had never been this strong as a Techeun, even when she was actively training under Illyn, she lacked the focus to control the energy and power of the City with the level of mastery her clone was showing.

"You could have been so much more than just another Witch," Her own voice mocked her, "You chose to run away like a coward when they practically gave you the seat of power! You'd have become the first Witch Queen of the Reef! Stronger than Mara. Stronger than all others! We could have kept everything we loved so close." NotArielle smiled like a shark, "We'd have protected Uldren."

"Shut up!" Arielle snarled and unleashed a burning wave of Sol Light into the clone, "You are nothing like me! You will never be me!"

Her own voice laughed at her insistence and pain once again tore through Arielle's body, this time from her knee as small strike of energy smashed into her kneecap, shattering the bone inside the skin and forcing Arielle to the ground as her copy walked towards her, energy building around her hands as she approached.

"I am as real as you, Arielle. I am what you could have been, what you wanted to be for so long. I am the Queen of this City and the Ruler of the Awoken. You lost your nerve when you found Uldren. You threw all this away. And for what? Love?" NotArielle laughed, "That love didn't protect you on the Moon and it didn't protect Uldren."

Something in Arielle snapped.

Arc, Sol and Void surged to the forefront of her mind, clearing the confusion and doubts that Riven had given her and instead flooded her with the confidence and truth that this was just another trick, a desperate attempt to defeat those who stood in her way of freedom, the three sparks of Light began interweaving themselves into a powerful force within Arielle, so powerful it burned the illusion Riven had planted in her mind away and Arielle saw the real Riven, clawed paws tightly gripping the ground as she stood as tall as Skolas had stood, hissing and chattering in challenge at Arielle.

The Warlock released the fury of Arc, Sol and Void in a single powerful beam from her hands, the force of the impact threw Riven back against the wall but Arielle did not let up, she forced the Light into Riven further watching as four of the Ahamkara's eyes were burst from the force of the attack.

A gun shot went off behind Arielle, then a second and a third, six in total as she saw Saix firing off more shots from his hand cannon, then fed by Arielle's Light, Saix snatched the Golden Gun from his side and fired into Riven's mouth as the Ahamkara tried to cover the ground with flames, only to stagger further back as the shots forced her to swallow the flames.

"Just die!" Saix snarled in clear rage.

Riven gave a bellowing roar before rolling and letting herself fall off a ledge and vanished into the darkness away from Arielle's merciless attack.

"Where did she go?"

"Not far," Arielle said as she looked to the others, "If they don't wake up from her dreams, she will feed on them to regain her strength."

"How do we wake them?" Saix asked, realizing that despite their best efforts, none of the Ghosts had managed to stir their Guardians.

"Painfully." Arielle said, taking the crystals once again from her pocket and dividing them in her hands, taking a deep breath to clear her mind in preparation for what she was going to do. "Cover me."

She reached into Grandpa's mind first, finding it echoing with gunshots and screams, battles long since passed and forgotten were here, stored in memory files that the Exo had locked into his memory stores, protecting them from the chance of being erased by a Reboot, but there were so many of them Arielle struggled to find the one that did not belong, until she saw a shimmer, a bluish tint to a memory they wasn't part of the norm and fell into the scene, watching Grandpa charge forwards, Arc light cackling over his arms and torso as he threw punch after punch into his opponent.

All around them, bodies of a young woman and four children, the youngest not even a toddler, lay bloody and butchered, all at the hands of this huge Fallen Archon Priest, the golden cloak of House of Kings was stained with fresh blood.

Arielle felt sick, realizing this was not a false memory, it was an altered one, she'd heard stories on the Reef from Variks of a Archon Priest from the House of Kings who had been brought down by a single Titan years before the Last City was formed for the merciless butchery of the Titan's apparent wife and children.

Riven was forcing Grandpa to fight an enemy he had faced once before, but the Titan's Light was no longer as strong as it should have been, the burning warmth that was Grandpa's Light was dwindling with every punch while the Archon stood, unphased and laughing.

Seeing the Taken orb that did not belong in the memory, Arielle reached out and tore the orb from the memory, burning it in her palm with Sol light seconds before Grandpa punched the Archon's face with enough force to completely shatter and dislocate the lower jaws of the Fallen monster and destroy its Ether breather, renewed with sudden energy and Light Grandpa continued to beat the Archon over and over again until it was nothing more than a bloody mess.

"Get me the fuck out of this place." The Titan Exo said in a hollow tone. "I'm going to kill that mother fucker." He added and Arielle nodded, one hand now on Grandpa's shoulder to bring him out of his own memories, then left the Titan to his own thoughts and reached out into Kuji's mind.

She found him wandering the vast span of an icy landscape on earth, his body shaking from frost bite and his Ghost's shell clutched protectively in his arms, trying to keep some heat around the little shell as they wandered.

All around them, snow fell heavily and winds roared with the strength of unseen monsters, chilling Kuji to the bone as eh struggled on though the endless white space, his mouth moving, forming words and sounds but they were lost in the raging snow storm it seemed until Arielle caught the Hunter's thoughts.

Where are they? Why did they leave me? I don't know what to do! Why can't anyone hear me?!

Then the question, the sickening dreadful question spoken in Valmont's voice.

"Who are you?"

Arielle reached out and grabbed Valmont, revealing the little shell as a Taken blight and again burned the thing out of Kuji's mind, grabbing the human by the arm and pulling him out of his fear and confusion back to the present.

"What the fuck?"

"Riven thought she could trap you." Arielle told him and Kuji growled, pulling the Arc Light from inside himself to the fore and charging Riven along side Grandpa and Saix as Arielle moved on to Orion.

She'd expected a fight, a struggle of some kind, but that was not what she found as she reached Orion.

It was quiet, and Arielle hadn't been expecting that. Everyone else had been drowning in their worst memories, wallowing through suffering and pain and heartbreak. Part of her viewed it as a welcome change, but the silence caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.

She stared at the building before her, her orange eyes roving every detail, before she focused on the white door. Arielle had seen that very door in her husband's sketch books, and he'd talked about it occasionally, a place of their own in a few years. Her feet carried her to the beautiful white door, and she hesitated to turn the knob.

There was a chance that whatever was inside could break her as well as Orion.

What makes you think I'd grant you a wish?

Riven's purr sent a spark of rage through the Awoken Warlock and Arielle's hand closed around the knob and turned.

Orion was cursing to himself and she could hear him in another room. There was an obnoxious song playing in the background and Arielle frowned at the sound; the occasional high notes made her ears ring.

"Orion? Can you lower the music?" She called into the house.

"I can't find Wrex and the asshole isn't listening to me. As usual." Orion called back.

The familiarity of it all brought a smile to her face but it was short lived as she looked around the house. It was perfect. Everything was neat and clean and…not them. Arielle knew that Orion was a neat freak and he balanced out her chaotic order. There was none of her chaos present in the house and it hurt. The pain was sharp and cold enough to briefly smother her rage, but it was back with a vengeance when she heard Orion cussing even louder as he slammed a door.

"Babe have you seen my hammer?"

Arielle quirked a brow, "What?"

Orion stepped into the hall, clearly frazzled, and frustration was obvious in his rigid stance and glowing gaze. "I can't find my fucking hammer. First it was my Nameless Midnight. Then it was the ammo. After that the helmet and now my fucking hammer. And Wrex won't turn off that fucking song!"

"You told me I'm not allowed to touch your music." Wrex's voice was low, barely loud enough to be heard over the song and it was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Why do you need the hammer?" Arielle asked curiously.

He gave her an odd look, "Iron Banner, remember? We're supposed to be running through with the guys this afternoon."

The familiarity and normalcy of it all hurt her heart and made her angrier. She hated Riven. Arielle extended her hands to the Titan, and he took them into his larger ones and his presence soothed her soul. This was what he'd always done for her; he'd been a reassuring and stoic figure that grounded her storm and gave her focus. This between them, would always be real, and nothing Riven conjured up could ever replicate it.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears but she fought them off, "Your personal hell is never being able to find your belongings."

He nodded, "Its annoying as fuck. And if I hear that fucking song again, I'm just gonna stab my ears. I don't need them to shoot."

"Have you noticed that this house isn't real?" Arielle asked as she curled her fingers around his.

Orion quirked a brow, "What? I just cleaned."

The Warlock shook her head, "No, Orion. Where's my stuff?"

He tilted his head in gesture to the shelf, "Your books are… not there." He paused and then looked at her again, "Your mess isn't around."

The familiarity of this playful debate made her want to smile, but again, she was reminded that her chaos was missing from his perfect home, "It's too perfect. My chaos is missing. This isn't real."

He met her gaze, "What is this?"

"Riven. The Ahamkara that killed Cayde. She's trying to destroy the team, feed, and free herself all in one move."

He studied her and she urged her electricity to wrap around him and the house shuddered as Riven's hold was challenged. Orion stated, "She couldn't reach you."

Arielle shrugged, "A side-effect of my past life. I'm here to pull you out… she is hoping this will hurt."

"Jokes on her, I'm just angry as fuck that she took my stuff."

"The perfect state of the house, Orion. It's your dream. She's hoping to manipulate it to make you second guess your worth." Arielle countered but then she gave him a wicked smile, "She's attacking your ego."

The Titan relaxed as the repeating song from Hell was overpowered by gunfire and the occasional exploding grenade. He reached for his scout rifle with an arrogant smirk, "I never second guess my worth; I piss excellence."

Arielle smothered her laughter as she watched Orion march into the firefight. His ego was an impenetrable fortress that got him through anything.

Vlad cursed as he looked around for his assailant though the smoke and fire that surrounded him, he could hear Rose somewhere screaming in uncontrolled sorrow, Orion and Arielle were silent, their bodies in a broken heap near Rose and he'd seen Saix's destroyed body and the shattered remains of his Ghost in the ruins of a wall.

He saw Kuji a few feet away and moved to grab him only to watch in horror as the human was incinerated by a burning shot from a Golden Gun seconds before Grandpa charged the attacker, shield blocking the next shot though it shattered as a knife came at the Exo Titan and shattered his right optic before another Golden Gunshot ripped through the air and burned though the Exo's chest.

"And I thought I trained you better."

Vlad froze for a second then forced himself to move as the last gunshot echoed by his audio and he raced into cover, seeing Rose clutching the shattered fragments of her Ghost for a few seconds between the flames and smoke before she was again lost in the fire.

Then the flames parted again, and Vlad found himself face to face with his mentor.

"Hunters do not run from a challenge Vlad." His adversary stated. "I want my gun back."

"Cayde?"

Cayde did not answer, instead he charged at Vlad, knife in one hand and the Golden Gun in the other.

Vlad braced his feet and caught the knife in one hand and tried to pushed Cayde away before running into the smoke and flames for cover struggling to understand what and how this was happening, Cayde was dead, he'd seen him die, Rose had seen him die, this wasn't possible!

"You can't run from me Vlad!" Cayde yelled from somewhere as a knife barely caught Vlad's arm as he continued to run.

How? How was this happening!? Cayde was dead! This couldn't be happening! This cannot happen! Cayde's gone, gone and never coming back! His Ghost was killed and the Bastard Prince had shot him with his own gun! This wasn't possible!

Vlad stopped as he heard the crying from Rose stop suddenly, the echo of a gunshot silencing everything in the room it seemed, and the flames parted long enough for Vlad to see Rose fall, still clutching her broken Ghost in her hands as she lay unmoving on the floor.

"Now that we are alone." Cayde stated coldly as he aimed at Vlad, intent on killing the younger Hunter. "Good by-ARGH!"

"Vlad!"

Arielle's voice, but her body was limp, the fires and the smoke made it impossible to breath suddenly.

"It's not real Vlad! None of what you see is real! You have to fight!"

"But-"

"Fight back!" Arielle's voice thundered around him.

Saix blocked Riven's claws with Bolt Caster as she tried to charge Arielle, throwing her back as she snapped her jaw at him. "You will not reach them while I live, beast." He promised.

"That is your promise?" the beast purred in Anna Lee's voice, a sickly-sweet tone the Warlock had used so often too tease him with when they were so much younger. "You don't keep your promises often."

It stung being reminded of that, but he kept his weapon up, "You'll not have them."

Riven charged at him only to be shot from the side as Kuji and Grandpa charged her, their Light burning against her thick hide as they raced at him, Orion stood behind Arielle and threw up his arms as a Void bubble spread over the Warlock, Rose and Vlad.

"Fight Vlad!" Arielle ordered again as he tried to find a way to escape the flames, "It's not Cayde-6!"

"I can't!" Vlad yelled back unable to grab the gun at his side despite the threat to his own life as he ran again. "I can't shoot him Arielle!"

"If you don't you die!" Arielle yelled back, though she understood the confusion that held Vlad trapped now. Cayde was the father figure Vlad had never known until his life as a Guardian, the father who helped him cope with losing those precious memories the Reboot had stolen away and helped him keep track of his surviving memories, the diaries of a dozen lifetimes long since gone, the sixty-five Reboots that had removed almost all human life Vlad remembered save his name and the word 'son' that had been spoken by a woman, but no longer held any meaning or emotion.

It was Cayde's compassion and understanding that kept Vlad from hurting Cayde; the memories and the time spent together had formed a powerful bond.

Arielle had to break that train of thought without destroying Vlad's metal state. She could see the thread that tied Cayde to Vlad. It was strong and strained, but not a single thread of it was frayed. This is what the Ahamkara was relying on, a promise that she'd be able to feed until he wasted away.

The manipulative bitch.

If Arielle severed the connection, it could fracture Vlad's mind and force a Reboot; which was unacceptable. So she would have to be creative.

Arielle reached out, relying on her lessons with Illyn, to destroy the threads that Riven was using to manipulate Vlad's mind. The Techeuns and the Ahamkara shared a power of sorts, and it was one, Arielle remembered, that she'd always done well with. She altered Cayde, knowing that this was going to hurt but it would save her teammate. Cayde's image shimmered and she replaced it with Uldren. She held onto the image, very aware of how wrong it was, but it was how Vlad remembered him.

The uncaring swagger and the cold yellow eyes. A sneer of pride.

The shots rang and the vision ended.

Arielle saw him moving out of the corner of her eye, heard his cape flutter as he walked, and felt the surge of his Light as he joined the fray. When he was gone, the Warlock turned to Rose, still trapped in the wish the Ahamkara had granted.

Arielle reached in, finding the Tower was in shambles and ruined the Traveler broken and laying destroyed in the burning ashes of the Last City. 'Cayde' had his hands at Rose's throat, the Awoken Hunter trapped under him as he choked the life from her, her own hands trying to claw Cayde's from her neck as the winds screamed with voices from all around, each voice blaming Rose for being weak, for failing, or never changing, over and over again as she fought to free herself.

Rose knew something wasn't right. Riven's lies had fooled her enough to allow Riven to get close but Rose hadn't been completely lost in her 'perfect' world that she'd not been ready, Arielle could see the knife from Rose's side was jammed into the fake Cayde's chest.

"You were never strong enough to fight the real battles!" 'Cayde sneered as Rose began to fade out, "Worthless little flower."

Arielle didn't expect the reaction she witnessed to the taunt.

Rose's eyes burned bright green, blindingly so and Sol Light erupted down her arms as she slammed then into the chest of her attacker, a sound somewhere between rage and sorrow echoing around the world as the edges seemed to shake and crack like glass as Rose continued to force the Sol Light into her attacker, seemingly unaware of just how far she was pushing her own mental strains.

Then Arielle heard it. The mantra of thoughts from Rose herself, like a prayer or chant that kept her focused.

Nothing stays the same. Nothing here is real.

Over and over again the same thing, each time with more force, more painful truth, as the world Riven had created around her continued to crack and fall away into darkness. Riven had apparently underestimated the Hunter's grip on her emotions at being taunted by a mentor with a name she knew had never been spoken before in that voice.

The world finally broke apart, and Rose fell with the shattered fragments into the darkness until with a painful gasp, she hit the ground of the real world, clutching her neck with one hand as she struggled to gather her bearings as Bing gave cheered and nuzzled into her cheek.

"Welcome back." Arielle greeted as she put her crystals away and offered Rose her hand.

There was a moment of hesitation, Rose still unsure if this was really the real Arielle in front of her, then she saw the Void bubble around them and the fighting Guardians beyond it, facing the Ahamkara without pause or mercy as their light forced the beast to stagger and stumble.

"Real?" She asked.

"Real." Arielle nodded and helped Rose stand. "We end this now."

"Gladly."

Riven bellowed in rage as she released blue flames over the Guardians forcing them back as the Void bubble shattered, she knew she had no means to source power from now and without that she was quickly losing energy and power to the Light that burned into her hide.

She growled deep in her chest and the sound of hissing, howling and whistling, moments later she cackled as the room swirled and pulsed with Taken energy.

Arielle grabbed Rose before she could fall off the narrow ledge she had landed on, heaving the Hunter back onto the pathway as Orion hung from the broken rails of a bridge above the two, swinging himself up to the more stable ground beside the railing, Vlad and Kuji were lucky enough to have landed on a section of path way to the right of Orion while Saix and Grandpa were a few feet below Rose and Arielle on a broken slab of Amethyst wall. All around them, debris and broken rubble slammed into the ground.

"Where the hell are we?" Kuji demanded.

"The Sea of Screams," Arielle said, "And that," She added pointing to a small shimmering portal high above them. "Is our way out. The longer we stay here, the more power Riven takes from us."

"A hop, skip and a jump then?" Kuji asked, walking to the edge of his platform and then stepped back as another platform appeared before his eyes. "What the fuck?"

"The Queensfoil lets you see what is hidden." Rose said as she and Arielle jumped their way to a new place and then joined Kuji and Vlad on their platform while Grandpa, Saix and Orion made their way up wards as well. "We have to get up there before the Queensfoil wears off."

"And I doubt Riven is going to just let us jump up there." Saix stated, already jumping ahead to make sure the platform was large enough to hold all of them. "Any tips?"

"Watch for shimmers and don't linger." Arielle said, "The platforms don't stay long."

Riven's tail suddenly lashed out from nowhere, striking Orion with a powerful and echoing clang against his armour, but the Titan managed to land fly back to the others with a burst of Light, though the relief was short lived as the Ahamkara's claws tore through the air inches above Kuji and Grandpa's heads as they jumped ahead.

"She's following us." Saix said.

"Then let's make this hard." Vlad suggested as he fired a shot at the claws coming at them again, knocking them away as Rose, Arielle and Kuji jumped to the safety of the platforms waiting a few seconds as Saix cut into Riven's tail strike coming at the from behind with Bolt Caster before they all moved on to the next platform, a narrow walk way that barely had enough space to allow someone to walk along.

Rose jumped up to the next platform first, grabbing the edge with her hands and then stayed hanging while Grandpa and Orion scrambled up her back onto the flat platform, Arielle following while Saix and Vlad fired on Riven's claws as they tried to grab Rose from her place before they followed the others, Vlad pausing to help Rose up.

Seconds after they'd left the Sea of Screams, Riven charged them from behind, sharp teeth snatching up Kuji and Rose as the two were the last ones though the portal out, but instead of trying to swallow the two, Riven howled in agony as the two Hunters released Arc Light into her teeth and mouth, forcing it into her body internally while Vlad tethered the Ahamkara with a Void arrow, Grandpa unloading his Wardclif Coil shots into the beast while Saix fired his Sleeper Stimulant against her sides while Orion flung his hammers harshly against her back and head.

Riven collapsed, Rose and Kuji tumbling from her maw as Arielle stood before the beast and brought up her hands. "I can grant you anything you wish!" Riven offered in desperation, the statement so odd in Mara's voice.

"I have what I want." Arielle hissed coldly and Riven gave a deafening bellow as the Warlock's Light tore into her again, this time directly into her body, tearing hide from muscle and bone until there was nothing left but a torn and bloody mess of a carcass and a large, pulsating mass.

Rose snatched it up and took off running, hearing the echoing screams around her grow louder and louder, as Taken began swarming from every shadow as she followed the pathway Kalli and Shuro Chi had given her. The Heart pulsed and with each pulse it ate at her armor, Rose ignored the burning pain in her hands, the aching numbness of being drained every second she held the heart in her hands and forced herself to go further and further.

When she could run no longer Arielle was there, snatching the Heart from her numb hands as Vlad caught her and half dragged-half carried her with him, following the Warlock down the newly appeared stairs, until at last Arielle threw the heart with all her might into a deep pool with a pained snarl as Kalli and Shuro Chi moved their arms, hands and fingers in ways that none of them quite understand.

"She is resisting!" Kalli hissed in warning, though her words were cut off as the Guardians unloaded their weapons into the Taken Heart, forcing Riven's attention on them and not the Tech Witches as they continued their ritual until suddenly the room was flooded with blinding light and then came a calm, welcome silence.

"Is it… done?" Rose managed to ask as Bing fizzed out of her armour and began to cover her with Light, healing the burns to her arms and hands.

"It is done." Shuro Chi nodded, "Thank you for freeing us, and for all you have done here today." She added as she and Kalli brought their hands up and bowed their heads. "Until we meet again." She bid before the two of them faded away.

"How do we get out of here?" Kuji asked, realizing that they had not been to this room before and he doubted they could get back the way they had come.

Just then, a ping echoed from Bahamut, then, Bing, Sovereign, Wrex, Vakarian, Valmont and Iris. A location for transmitting from Petra, and moments later Arielle was gone.

"She's still angry." Rose said softly, nodding to Bing to lock into transmat and follow Arielle once he was finished healing her.

"It's going to take a long time for her to accept this." Saix nodded as the other followed suit. "But things will calm down, eventually." He assured before vanishing.

"I used to believe that." Rose sighed and would have let Bing transmat them out had she not heard the familiar echo of Mara's voice from the Statue of Riven that stood behind her.

"I thought they would never leave…" she chuckled, "You and I are not done. We are inseparable now. Though your actions we've forged an age-old bond between my kind and yours."

"Get the fuck out of my head." Rose hissed venomously.

"One wish granted deserves another." Riven continued with a sickening chuckle, even as Bing quickly locked into transmat to allow them to leave. "And I cannot wait to show you what SHE asked for. O' Murderer Mine."

Petra thought she'd know when Arielle was coming for her.

She was wrong.

The air on her left seemed warmer and she could've sworn she heard the soft crackle of electricity that signaled Arielle's arrival. She twisted slightly, already in a defensive stance and for whatever the Stormcaller would throw at her. The fist that slammed into her face came from the opposite direction and it was accompanied a painful eruption of a miniature storm. She tried her hardest to bite back the scream of pain, but Arielle noticed, and the intensity increased until her cry of pain echoed around them. The pain dissipated and despite her struggle, Petra threw her own punch into Arielle's gut.

She could fight back. She was Petra Venj, the Queen's Wrath and she was not afraid. Until her single blue eye met Arielle's orange suns and she realized this was not a fight she could win with a solid gut punch, if at all. Corsairs of all ranks scattered as the next punch from Arielle threw Petra into the wall, leaving an impact crater and knocking several vases and hanging baskets from their place.

"Where. Is. She." Arielle's voice was soft, but the intensity of her eyes and the way she hissed each word had power.

"You've lost your mind!" Petra accused as she pulled herself from the crater and braced her feet and body, as she rose to her full height, "I will not let you hurt our Queen!"

"You think you can stop me?" Arielle asked as the storm erupted around her and the room nearly shattered, but a Void bubble captured the lightning before it could do more damage. Petra recognized Orion's work seconds before she was kicked hard in the side and forced outside in the shallow waters of a pool.

"You're mad!" Petra snarled, spitting blood from her mouth as she forced herself to stand again.

"Madness?" Electricity raced up and down Arielle's arms, it played with the edges of her hair, and the storm was reflected in her eyes as she spoke, "Is it madness to feel betrayed by my friend and my Queen? Is the hurt and anger at the loss of two friends, Cayde and Uldren, madness?" Her voice was quiet. The calm before the storm. Thunder rumbled across the sky and through Arielle and into the ground and Petra felt it. It was overwhelming and sent her nerves racing. The Stormcaller continued, "I loved you as a friend and I valued you as a colleague and a fellow soldier. But do you know what this shitshow has taught me, Petra?" Certain words had venom and they were biting and the sharper ones made Petra flinch. Arielle was calm and dangerous. "Its taught me that Petra Venj the Queen's Wrath is a mindless puppet."

"I am not." Petra whispered.

The storm rumbled and Arielle flashed her teeth, "You knew the dangers the Ahamkara posed and you knew there was one sitting in the Dreaming City. When Uldren started acting out you should've called. You should've done something besides locking him up! He wasn't a monster to be caged! You should've seen it. You were my replacement. You were supposed to protect both of them!"

Petra's blue eye narrowed, "I could never be you. The Sword is second only to the Queen and equal to the Shield. I was lesser than both and I served her."

"You failed." Arielle snapped, "Mara Sov is a brilliant and powerful woman, but she forgets that she's not a god. She forgets that she can make stupid ass decisions and you let her! Mara has more than enough puppets, Petra, and you were supposed to rise above them. You were supposed to tell her what she needed to hear not what she wanted!" Lightning flashed and the rain poured. It had an icy bite but Arielle never flinched while Petra felt every sting down to her bones.

"This was not my fault."

Thunder roared and lightning flashed, curling and leaping off of Arielle's entire form, "Cayde and Uldren, their blood is on your hands. Their souls will weigh on you forever, Petra Venj, and never will you escape them." Terror flooded her Petra as something seemed to slither into her very being. Arielle took a step forward, the lightning striking the ground as she walked, "I have words for Mara Sov and you will open the door by choice or I will rip the City apart doing it myself." Arielle's smile was cruel, "I will destroy everything Mara has worked for."

It was a promise, and Petra knew even if she could hold her own for a while against the Storm caller, she could not win in a fight like this. She'd never had the skill or strength to take on a Guardian whose Ghost could and would likely bring her back instantly from death and heal every injury as and when it happened. For the first time, Petra was looking at her friend and colleague and fellow soldier and was terrified of the woman staring back at her.

"The Oracle Engine to open the way to Queen Mara Sov was missing its offering." Shuro Chi said from the crowd as she and Kalli came forwards, the latter holding an oddly glowing shard of crystal that couldn't have been much bigger than a child's toy ball with the same circumference of a rugby ball from the base to the middle, then slowly tapering into a blunted tip, the glow settled at the base, and just looking at it made Rose shudder, Orion refused to look at the shard, though no other Awoken seemed to have any reaction to the shard.

"What is that?" Saix asked looking between the two Earth Born Awoken and the shard.

"It is a key to open the way to Mara Sov's Court in the Ascendant Realm. Created using pure Techeun Magic rather than the crude method the Hunter used to gain access to Oryx's realm." The elder Witch explained, clearly having had the chance to do a little studying in the short time she was free already. "It is common for the sight of one to unnerve Earth Born Awoken, as they have lost much of their connection to our City and also its magic."

"Open the doorway." Arielle ordered. "I have words with your Queen." She added, leaving no room for further arguments.

"Should we tell them what Riven said?" Bing asked Rose privately and his Hunter shook her head slightly in answer. "But it could be important…"

"Right now, no one will listen to us." She told him softly. "We'll wait until things are calmer." She assured and Bing gave a small chime of understanding, resting against her chest inside her armour, unable to do much more to comfort her besides that as they were led to a large building, carved from amethyst and marble and in the middle of the room was a huge Oracle Engine, the rings lazily rotating around the central orb as small glittering lights floated upwards from a pool of cool pale Reef purple water beneath the engine.

Kalli led them up the staircase to a balcony that looked over the Oracle while Shuro Chi remained on the ground level and placed the shard into a small opening inside a part of the Oracle Engine, nodding to Kalli who carefully tapped and moved small fragments of code on a terminal beside them. For a moment nothing happened, then with a powerful hum of energy and life, the engine came to life, all the rings rotating back and stopping when all the rings were aligned facing the balcony, one of the arms now acting as a platform to allow someone to reach the central orb of the Oracle. Seconds later, the central orb gave a soft hiss and the center of the orb opened to show a blindingly white core within.

Arielle went through the light first, the storm still rippling over her body as she went, Saix and Grandpa following her in hopes that they could at least attempt to keep this from becoming a blood bath.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Rose asked Orion.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure I know anymore." The Titan sighed and nodded to Kalli and Shuro Chi before going through the light with Kuji and Vlad, Rose quietly followed behind them.

The space beyond the white light was both dark and beautiful, Bing couldn't find where they were in regard to any star maps, nor could he find any outside channels in the space, only the com frequencies of the other Guardians and Ghosts, there was a throne at the end of a long walk way, framed by what could only be the Milky Way Galaxy all around the short hall way were small drifting specks of light that harmlessly passed though Rose's hands without causing any harm as she walked through the hall, coming to the back of the other Guardians, looking up she saw what looked like a large cliff face, sheer and near impossible to climb without help. The balcony before them was protected by a delicately crafted railing, to their left a set Amethyst table with small purple flecks of light swirling in a lazy mass and to the right a shallow pool with a delicate mist coming up from it.

Ahead of them, the walkway continued until it spread to form an extended platform that held a large silver throne, light by a small round light that cast a gentle white shine over the throne and the woman sat in it.

"Wow," was all Rose could think to say.

"So, this is where you've been hiding?" Arielle sneered in disgust, "A new Realm, sitting in a new Throne while the rest of us struggle with half-truths, lies and manipulations your pet caused?"

"I was not hiding Arielle." Mara Sov stated evenly though there was something in her tone that left the Guardians with a hollow feeling in their stomachs as she continued. "I had business here, business that required my presence."

"And to ensure your privacy, you lock away your brother and then left him at the mercy of the Ahamkara? Your precious pet." The Warlock snarled. "You could have brought him with you. You could have stopped all of this if you had just once stopped thinking about yourself and what's best for you and your own plans."

"Best for me?" Mara repeated. "Don't be ignorant Arielle, its beneath you. I felt my brother slip away. I was not blind to my brother's sickness, and that is why I came here, to find the cause and stop it."

"And you kept it quiet and it cost us Uldren and Cayde" Arielle countered harshly, Void Light turning the already cool air suddenly ice cold as strikes of Arc Light darted from Arielle's arms and chest. "You never understood that asking for help wasn't weakness."

"A Queen does not beg."

"A Queen does not abandon her people because she's too stubborn to ask for help!" Arielle snarled, the space now uncomfortably cold around them, Saix pulled Kuji out of the path of a lightning strike. "How many times have Guardians and Awoken banded together against threats and won? How many times have we proven to you that we will follow you if you would have just asked?"

Mara did not have an answer, truthfully she couldn't say that Arielle was wrong in her statements as the Guardians, Awoken, Human and Exo alike had aided her against the Wolves twice, and again against Oryx, several of those now before had risked their own lives to bring her back to the Reef. During the Red War the lightless Guardians had stood shoulder to shoulder with her forces to keep the Cabal away not just from the Reef outpost but also the entirety of the debris field.

But this was different, this was a mistake she had allowed to grow into a disaster and now, she had to mend the damage and heal the injuries as best she could as Queen, not just to her people, but also to the Guardians who had lost their Vanguard. There was an order to her plans and that order would not be altered, no it could not be altered.

Until her City and people were safe, she could not focus on anything else.

"There is more going on in this City then you realize. More fighting and blood shed then you could ever imagine. We have been facing this battle in a constant annual cycle, three weeks pass and then we wake to find ourselves back at the start of those three weeks. Riven was not the only force at work here."

"What else would have the power to trap a hidden city into a cycle?" Kuji asked. "Riven is dead, her power to grant wishes is over."

"No, it's not." Rose said, now sure that the Ahamkara's parting words had not just been a scare tactic.

"What do you mean? We just killed her." Kuji said as if that solved the issues and cleared up the problems.

"One wish granted, deserves another and I cannot wait to show you what she wished for." Rose repeated what she had heard from Riven after her death, "Riven was Taken, but not in the way Oryx took Kalli, Shuro Chi and Sadia. She maintained free will enough to corrupt Uldren even from inside the spire. But Ahamkara do not grant themselves wishes."

"You've lost me." Kuji said shaking his head. "Oryx is dead. You saw to that yourself. Everyone knows that Ahamkara grant wishes and that is why the Iron Lords of olden days killed them off, we just found out about Riven and now she is also dead, we killed her and so there is no way she can grant more wishes." He listed off the steps and looked to Saix. "Right?"

"What Rose means is that while yes, Riven could grant wishes, she couldn't have wished for the city to be trapped in a loop." The Iron Lord explained and looked at the Queen. "The one who took Riven made that wish, and even though we have killed Riven, we have only eliminated half of the problem."

Mara Sov nodded and motioned to the set table, the purple mass suddenly spreading wide to show an image of a Hive Wizard with several large Hive Princes around her. "That is Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return, daughter of Witch Queen, Savathûn. She now resides in my true Throne World of Eleusisnia. At her mother's command Dûl Incaru wished for the City to be trapped within the cycle and upon her death at the end of the third week, the cycle begins anew, feeding Savathûn endless power from the City as tribute." The Queen explained. "That is why I am here. Seeking ways to end this battle and free my people and aid you by ending this."

"You knew all of this and chose to just leave without a word to anyone!" Arielle snarled in rage, the Arc Light shattering the image as she turned her gaze back to the Queen. "You knew all of this before you had Uldren locked up in a cell?"

"Yes." Mara said. "This is my City and my mistake Arielle, and as you and your friends so often remind me, you are no longer mine to command."

"Don't you dare try and use that as an excuse!" Arielle bellowed, cutting the Queen off as a bolt of lightning cut the air inches from Mara's face. "You summoned me when the Wolves from Rose's world threatened your Outpost, you left instructions that I was to rule the Reef when you were taken prisoner by Oryx even though you knew it was against my wishes. You do as you damn well please and everyone has to obey! That has always been your way, you arrogant bitch!"

Silence and tension filled the room, until Mara stated in a quiet rage, "A Queen does not beg."

"Then you are a failure to your people."

All eyes fell on Vakarian who had spoken from beside Arielle's head.

"You have ruled for years, following your own rules and your own plan, never bothering to ask or consider the wishes and feelings of those around and closest you, you proved that when you plotted behind Arielle's back to make her Queen in your stead should you die, even though you know she had no memories of her time as Arielle Sov. You caused the rift between you two that day and even though you managed to repair it when Rose came to us, your actions in this whole situation had destroyed not just one life, but many others as well. You expect everyone to accept that you have a plan and that is what they should believe in, but those plans mean nothing to people who are left out of the loop without answers, facts or reasons to understand the actions of your agents and yourself because of your selfishness, stubbornness and pride. We would have come and fought at your side as before if you had asked but instead, you chose to go off and do whatever it is you do." The blue and tan Ghost stated in a heated tone while his shell twisted and clicked in restrained anger. "You have allowed this whole mess of a situation to grow into what it is now, and you have no one the blame for the death of your brother but yourself. Your people have suffered and died for you without question because you won't accept that you're not strong enough to fix the mess you've allowed to become so uncontrolled on your own terms."

The air was heavy, hot and tense though Mara was still sat calmly within her throne as she spoke. "So, you know how to rule do you? You understand the sacrifices I make? You speak of good Queens and absent rulers, Little Light, so you must know these things. Tell me, how you would do better?" She bid but did not give Vakarian the chance to answer before the chamber, cliff face behind them and all the space around them rocked violently with her echoing shout, one hand curled into a tight fist and striking the arm of the throne. "Speak."

The heat of the air was forced over them and Rose hit the ground on her knees, the shout leaving her ears ringing and her world disoriented as Orion also hit the ground, his chest aching from the force the Queen had used in that one bellowing command, Saix, Vlad and Grandpa all sliding back a foot or so form where they have been stood while Kuji braced himself against the wall, all fabrics of their armour suddenly singed at the edges as if burnt by a flame. Arielle remained standing, one hand caught Vakarian in her palm to prevent his shell being blown back as Mara continued, the cliff face behind and above then split apart in several places and weightlessly tumbled into the space around them.

"What should I do, when my every action is in service of a future that benefits you? You do not know me, Little Light, or the things I do. Do not dare to presume. You have not earned the right." She scalded, her words and anger as hot as the powerful force she had directed over them.

"I have every right." Arielle snarled, suddenly pushing the same power that had driven Rose and Orion to their knees back towards the Queen, the two forces creating a visual display of sparks and flames as they battled against each other. "You chose to leave me out of your plans and it has cost me a dear friend and broken my trust in people I called family. Your choices have caused a chain of events that has cost the Last City its Hunter Vanguard and destroyed the Vestian Outpost. You chose to ignore the aid that could have saved lives, and now you will live with that loss."

"You know nothing of loss Arielle." Mara snapped, her glowing blue eyes burning with icy fire.

"I know more about loss then you will ever know." Arielle hissed and with one final push against Mara's force, the Void Light shattered the heated wall of power Mara had sent at them and then forced the Queen back with a terrible, icy chill as it continued to travel, passing though the unseen boundaries of space to become part of the endless nothing that lay beyond.

Mara sat, her eyes closed and her body still. Arielle stood, burning yellow eyes still filled with rage, hurt and so many other emotions the Warlock was drowning in. The Warlock breathed out, and though the other's saw her mouth moving, they didn't hear the words that widened the Queen's electric blue eyes.

"You remember." Mara's voice was little more than a whispered breath, but Arielle heard it as clearly as she heard the gentle shifting of Vakarian's shell at her side.

"Everything." Arielle admitted.

Silence hung between the two Awoken women and the admittance had swallowed the power of their rage and demands effectively ending any further accusations. Arielle and Mara, Rose realized, were two sides of the same coin. Powerful, beautiful, and regal. On their shoulders they bore the weight of countless decisions and lives and for Arielle, who now remembered her past life, Arielle bore the weight of two lives. Decisions made by Arielle Stigande that led to her death on the moon, and now her new life as a Guardian. Her failure to protect Uldren and Cayde.

Queen of a City and Queen of the Storm.

Between them, in tatters and frayed ties, was what left of their friendship and family. Uldren, the one they both loved, was dead, and their trust in each other was shattered and it took with it, the love of sisters.

Mara felt that void as she held Arielle's gaze and saw the soft, compassionate heart that had belonged to her brother's wife, and the unyielding but constant fury of her Sword; Arielle Stigande had physically died on the moon, and when Arielle the Stormcaller arrived on the Reef, there had been little of the merciful Techeun apprentice, but there was enough to still call her friend, to trust her so fully that the title of Sword was given. Especially when Uldren, her Shield, had wept tears of joy after just catching a glimpse of the newly born Guardian. The Warlock had not been as fragile as the apprentice, and Mara found her easier to speak to. Now, Mara could see that both women, not at war with each other, in fact, agreed that Mara's decisions had destroyed everything Arielle held dear.

There was no turning back time, no saving Uldren or Cayde, no changing the past. Regret was not an emotion that a Queen could entertain. Instead she simply tilted her head gently in acknowledgement to Arielle and Arielle returned the gesture.

"What happens now?" Rose asked in a morose tone. She had just witnessed the falling out of Queen Mara and her Sword, Arielle. The first of many relationships to be destroyed and it wouldn't be the last.

"Now we do what Guardians always do when there is a threat." Saix stated and addressed the Queen. "If you will allow, I will send word to the Vanguard and Felwinter, Guardians will come and they will aid you as we did with Oryx and the Wolves, we will help you find a way to end this curse."

"Go." The Queen waved him off while nodding. "Coordinate with Petra and my Corsairs, they are on the front lines."

"And you still sit here and do nothing." Arielle whispered harshly as Vakarian vanished into her armor once more. She held Mara's gaze a moment longer, her final good-bye, before turning on her heel to leave. Orion reached out and grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her.

"You're going to let them suffer? People need you, Ari." He whispered and her head pounded at the sound at the way Arielle Stigande suddenly staggered back from him and his familiar lilt of her nickname.

"My wrath is the only thing my past and my present agreed on, and I am a danger loose on my own." Arielle answered. "I have issues to deal with before I can even offer help to anyone anymore." The neutral look in her eyes hurt, but he could tell she wasn't herself. He didn't know this Arielle, doing her best to stifle the warring past and present.

He hugged her, warm and comforting and then he let her go. She offered him a thankful quirk of her lips, and then disappeared into a shimmer.

Orion stared at the place she'd stood and Grandpa stepped closer, and placed a hand on his shoulder as Wrex informed the Titan that Vakarian had severed all connections.

"She'll be fine." Grandpa tried to assure Orion. "Let her work it out in her own ways and go from there."

Orion silently nodded, following the Exo Titan as he led the way down the staircase of the Oracle Engine room.

"We need to restock." Kuji said absently following and looking at his now empty belt pouches and the pack on his back, "We used a lot of ammo against Riven."

"Not to mentions Zavala's gonna throw a hissy fit when we get back." Grandpa huffed.

Rose listened but said nothing as she followed the group, and after Saix made all the necessary calls and set up the transmat areas for Guardians to arrive in the Dreaming City, they returned to the Tangled Shore to set down two Transmat zones to allow Guardians to continue the fight against the remaining Scorn. Then they left and Rose let Bing pilot the ship back towards the Last City while remaining silent.

"Are you angry with Vlad?" Bing finally asked.

"No."

"Arielle?"

"No."

"Then who are you angry with?" Bing asked.

Rose shook her head. "I'm not angry with anyone…I chose to go with Cayde, I chose to go with Vlad, to help Ari when the Hangman almost killed her," She listed off and sighed, "I'm just, trying to accept that everything has changed and I feel like it's my fault."

"Why?" Bing asked. "You didn't make her angry, and you didn't kill Uldren. None of this is your fault."

"I feel like it is, in some way." She said. "I could have stopped Vlad shooting Uldren like Arielle said… and if I hadn't hit my head in the Prison, we might have caught up to Cayde sooner and stopped Uldren shooting him…"

"But none of those things are your fault directly." Bing said, "Arielle and Vakarian said it. The Queen should have told us something was wrong, if she had, we could have worked it out from there, instead we were left with nothing but what we knew and saw as truth. That's not your fault or mine or Vlad's or even Arielle's."

"I guess." Rose sighed. "I just wish I knew Arielle would be ok."

"She'll be fine." Bing assured nuzzling into Rose's cheek. "She's strong, she's brave and she's smart. She can look after herself. We just have to get stronger so when she comes back she'll know we are strong too."

It was a weak attempt to make her smile, but it was honest and pure.

"Thank you, Bing." Rose smiled weakly.

"Anytime, Rose." Bing chimed.

It went from there.

It took a while, but eventually it was almost normal to not have Arielle around anymore. Almost. The Tower felt odd without her presence, and the sound of new Warlocks shrieking as they failed to dodge the occasional lightning strike, but there was enough work and bounties to do that it was impossible for Rose to sit and brood over what could have been. Should've been. It was harder on Orion, but the Titan made sure not to let anyone outside of his fire team and close friends see how much he missed his wife.

Vlad had gone and finished his training as a Young Wolf and while there was still a lot of tension between him and Lord Saix, the two were at least civil when they did have to interact with one another.

Guardians flooded the Shore and the Dreaming City, all of them bent on helping find a cure for the curse and also avenging Cayde-6 in their own ways and while no one else would go with her, Rose often went back to the City to help fight the curse and aid the Corsairs in their missions to try and lesson the curse's hold on their City, though each cycle became a tiring slog of repeated missions and close calls, she kept returning and delivering the same results.

That was why Rose was the one to deliver the news of the Queen's departure from the Dreaming City, apparently the Queen had at least taken the time to say she was leaving this time though it had been cryptic.

It was late in the evening when Vlad found Rose sat on the small platform overlooking the green lands beyond the wall, a small bag of crumbs at her side that she would sometimes throw handfuls of towards the sky, watching the birds fly out to catch the crumbs out of the air.

"You're happy." He stated with a small smile as he sat beside her.

"I'm coping." She corrected, leaning against his shoulder, "The Tower just doesn't feel right without Cayde. But I can't leave for too long without feeling homesick. Does that make sense?"

"It does." Vlad nodded. "I doubt anyone could take his place. Even if I do have his gun…I can't be his replacement since the dare was never made to me…"

"Think they'd ask Shuro-4 to do it?" Rose asked.

"Maybe. But he's got a closer tie to Felwinter than here… and I doubt any of the Hunters could stand in his place…"

"No one will ever replace Cayde-6, just like he couldn't replace Andal… no one will ever replace the Vanguard, only try and make their own marks…" Rose sighed. "Still feels wrong, not having someone to go to."

"Maybe one day soon, we'll have someone."

Rose nodded, chuckling as Bing fizzed into life beside her head. "Incoming encrypted message."

Vlad blinked then looked up as Sovereign came out of his shoulder armour and bounced in a nod. "Same here."

"Let's hear it," Vlad nodded, catching his Ghost in his palm, only the scowl as the familiar gruff voice that oozed with false charm filtered from the comms.

"When you're ready to embark on the Leviathan once more, come and see me in person to be bathed in gold, drink from the black and violet wines until you are satisfied. To become trained under my watchful eye close to my Loyalists and know this, you will be magnificent. A Guardian of Guardians. Shadow of Shadows. I reserve the right to be last when the end comes and for that, I will need you with me. You're so close."

"Calus."

End….

For now.


End file.
